Two additional persons have been charged in connection with an ongoing investigation into a card-skimming and cryptocurrency laundering ring operating in Manchester.

They are 25-year-old fast-food restaurant employee, Alrick Bruce and 23-year-old Shanae Smith, a sales representative, both of Highway Drive in Mandeville.

The arrests on Monday, March , followed the initial apprehension of three fast-food employees on February 14, 2026 where unauthorized transactions totalling over $600,000 were reported.

Two firearms and five rounds of ammunition were also seized during simultaneous operations in Maverly, St. Andrew and Mandeville, Manchester.

Reports are that between June 2025 and January 2026, Bruce allegedly compromised several customers’ card information while working at a restaurant drive-thru, which he would use to purchase Bitcoin and then transferred the funds – approximately JM$1.5 million – to a bank account allegedly owned by Smith.

Bruce was charged with conspiracy to defraud, simple larceny, possession of identity information and breaches of the Proceeds of Crime Act.

Smith has been charged with conspiracy to defraud and unlawfully making available a device or data for the commission of an offence.

They are to appear in the Kingston and St. Andrew Parish Court on Monday, May 04.

Meanwhile, head of the police’s Specialised Investigation Branch, Senior Superintendent Chris Brown says the investigations continue.