A member of the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) was arrested this morning as part of an ongoing investigation into a sophisticated phishing scam that defrauded the National Commercial Bank (NCB) of over $47m.

The soldier was arrested by agents from the Major Organised Crime and Anti-corruption Agency (MOCA) and officers from the JCF’s Counter Terrorism and Organized Crime Branch (CTOC).

Allegations are that between April and June 2022 the funds were illegally accessed from a number of accounts held at NCB, via an online phishing scam. 

The stolen money was transferred to various beneficiary accounts, which have since been used to withdraw the funds or further transfer them to other banking institutions.

MOCA said the soldier, who is suspected to be part of an organized criminal syndicate, was picked up by lawmen at approximately 10:00 a.m. today and taken to his residence in Kingston, which was subsequently searched. 

Another address linked to another suspect who is in custody was also searched.

MOCA said a number of electronic devices were seized during the search and charges are expected to be laid shortly.