Jamaican Maroon Chief Richard Currie has been identified as a person of interest by police in connection with a recent incident in Quick Step, St Elizabeth. A Forestry Department team was reportedly barricaded by community members on Friday in an attempt to disrupt an illegal timber harvesting operation.
Senior Superintendent of Police Stephanie Lindsay, head of the Constabulary Communications Network (CCN), revealed during an RJR News interview on Sunday that Currie is being asked to report to the police by 10 a.m. on Monday.
The incident is reportedly linked to a longstanding dispute between residents and officials over allegations of illegal lumber cutting in a protected forest area near the community.
According to Lindsay, Forestry Department officials were conducting a seizure operation when the area was blocked, leading to a stand-off with residents who suspected the officials of seeking personal gain.
“The Forestry Department disrupted an illegal logging operation on Friday, July 26, 2024, and was impeded in conducting its lawful duties by more than 200 community members and the illegal loggers,” said the department in a statement.
“On the afternoon of July 25, Forest Rangers from the Agency identified an extensive illegal timber harvesting operation in Lewis Patent in the Cockpit Country Forest Reserve, part of the Cockpit Country Protected Area near Quickstep, Trelawny. Upon receiving this report, the Agency dispatched a team on the morning of July 26 to seize the illegally harvested timber.
Upon arrival, the team, consisting of two Agency vehicles and seven staff members, discovered significant illegal harvesting activities, including the cutting and conversion of several Jamaican Mahogany trees into lumber. More than 500 pieces of lumber were located at multiple points along trails within the Reserve. The team began retrieving the lumber, loading 150 pieces into the Agency’s three-ton truck. However, their exit was blocked as trees and boulders were used to obstruct the road. The team contacted the Head Office, and a secondary team was dispatched, coordinating with the police for their release.”
A police-military team responded to the area and escorted the eight-member Forestry Department team to safety on Saturday afternoon. There was a reported stand-off between the residents and the security forces during that time.
Maroon chief criticizes government
Chief Currie, who has been vocal about the issue, criticized the authorities on his Instagram page for their alleged involvement in illegal lumbering.
“What is the Forestry Department doing with mahogany? Solid mahogany. You know how old this tree must have been… So when our people have the problem and we raise the problem, it is as if we are the obstruction…” he said.
Currie also accused the Government of failing to respect its Indigenous people and human rights, asserting that the Maroons of Quick Step were defending their Indigenous rights against what he described as the illegal lumbering of mahogany trees.
“Chief Currie is here standing and fighting for the rights of the Maroons and the people of Cockpit Country, and we will not back down no matter what force or intimidation you bring,” declared Currie.
The police are treating the situation seriously, with potential charges pending.
“It was a very hostile situation,” Lindsay said, referencing the barricading of the Forestry Department officials. She mentioned that other individuals have also been identified in relation to the incident.
“It is very likely that there will be charges, because they consider what happened a very serious breach, and it really put the lives of those individuals at risk,” she said.
