Butcher among three charged with alleged violations of agricultural law

Three men, including a butcher, have been charged after police uncovered alleged breaches of the Agricultural Protection Act and the Butcher’s Regulation during operations in Manchester and Clarendon last Friday.

The arrests were made by members of the Agricultural Protection Branch (APB) Area 3 Team during enforcement activities across the parish, according to a statement issued Monday by the Jamaica Constabulary Force.

Charged with failure to produce an agricultural receipt are 36-year-old Jermaine Mullings and 35-year-old Milton Powell, also known as “Gramazone,” both farmers from Prospect district, Baalbec, Manchester.

Forty-five-year-old butcher Allistair Brown of Whitney Turn, Porus, was charged with failing to notify intention to slaughter.

Police reported that at about 1:03 a.m. on Friday, the APB team visited a slaughterhouse in Manchester, where Brown was found in the process of slaughtering an animal. When asked to provide proof of notification to slaughter, he was unable to do so and was subsequently charged.

In a separate incident, Mullings and Powell were operating separate motor vehicles along the Bustamante Highway in Clarendon when they were signalled to stop by the police team. Upon inspection, both men were found in possession of large quantities of agricultural produce, the police allege.

The statement said the officers requested receipts for the produce, but none were produced. They were later charged.

Mullings, Powell and Brown are scheduled to appear in the Manchester Parish Court on March 19.

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