Target the big fish! - Transport operators want cops to go after extortion masterminds

A leading voice in the public transport sector has urged the police to go after the 'big fishes' behind the extortion of operators.

Twenty-one persons have been arrested by the operatives from the Public Safety and Traffic Enforcement Branch (PSTEB) and the Constabulary force's Counter Terrorism and Organised Crime Investigation Branch as part of a crackdown on extortion against public passenger vehicle operators. The arrests form part of an initiative dubbed Operation Transportation Streamline, which was launched on September 4.

The latest arrests took place in downtown Kingston last Friday when five persons were jailed for suspicion of extortion and breaches of the Road Traffic Act.

While welcoming the move to crack down on extortionist, Lorraine Finnikin, president of the All Voice Taxi Association, said the matter is far more complicated.

"I don't see where these arrests by themselves will change the landscape of the extortionist business. I endorse and support the initiative of the Transport Authority, the transport ministry and the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF), however, the JCF needs to broaden their investigations to find the masterminds of the extortionist business," Finnikin told THE STAR.

Lobby groups representing public transport operators last week hailed the launch of Operation Transportation Streamline as "a step in the right direction". The groups said the transport sector has been "affected by crime in a manner that any rational human being would describe as of crisis proportion".

"No other sector in Jamaica endures the type of oppression that the public transportation sector experiences," Finnikin said.

"It is widely known across Jamaica that public transportation operators are compelled to pay extortion fees in many of the areas where they operate. This issue has plagued our sector for years, and it remains a problem that no one, including government officials and agencies, dares to openly address," he said.

All Voice Taxi Association president said that when he entered the sector and examined the substantial amounts of money being extorted from operators daily, he decided to raise the issue with the police and the then minister of transport.

"However, I was advised to leave it alone, as speaking out would put both myself and my family in danger," he said.

"The police have told some of our members that in order to take action against extortionists, they would have to provide a statement, sign it, and testify in court. Operators and investors know that doing so would be akin to signing their own death warrants. Following the process and testifying against extortionists in court, places their lives and the lives of their loved ones in peril even before they leave the courtroom."

Finnikin said that when it comes to extortionists, the responsibility shouldn't rest on the transport operators to provide evidence to law enforcement.

"It is the duty of law enforcers to investigate, gather evidence independently, and make arrests," he said.