Policeman charged in cooking oil theft denied bail

The policeman charged in connection with the multimillion-dollar robbery of a delivery truck carrying cooking oil was denied bail in the St Catherine Parish Court on Monday.

Detective Corporal Maurice Whittingham, 35, and his co-accused, 34-year-old construction worker Michael Daley, are charged with robbery with aggravation and kidnapping.

Whittingham's attorney said that the accused suffered from diabetes and is in need of proper treatment and monitoring. However, Parish Judge Nicole Kellier ordered that he continue to be held in custody until February 7, when he is to return to court. Among her reasons for denying bail was the seriousness of the crime in which the detective is implicated. When the matter was mentioned on January 3, the court was told that investigations were still being conducted.

It is alleged that on Saturday, December 17, 2022, Whittingham and Daley, who was reportedly dressed in police paraphernalia, stopped a delivery truck along the Spanish Town Bypass in St Catherine. The truck, which is owned by Seprod Limited, was laden with cooking oil valued at more than $3 million. It is alleged that Whittingham approached the driver of the truck and asked about his data entry record and took him to a Honda motor car. The truck, along with the sidemen, was then driven to an unknown location. The truck was later located in the community of Thetford, near Old Harbour.

A subsequent report was made and an investigation was launched, which resulted in the arrests of Whittingham and Daley. Further investigation led to them being charged.