Jamaican Police Left Stranded After Thieves Steal a Beach

Thieves in Jamaica have embarrassed police and triggered a political row by stealing a beach - and making a clean getaway.

Hundreds of tonnes of white sand vanished from a planned resort on the island's north coast in July but three months later there is no sign of suspects nor sand.

An estimated 500 truck-loads of sand were removed from the Coral Spring beach in Trelawny and were believed to have been sold to rival resorts, a hefty logistical feat which has stumped police.

"It's a very complex investigation because it involves so many aspects," Mark Shields, the deputy commissioner for crime at the Jamaica Constabulary Force, told the BBC.

"You've got the receivers of the stolen sand, or what we believe to be the sand. The trucks themselves, the organizers and, of course, there is some suspicion that some police were in collusion with the movers of the sand."

A lot of sand is used in unregulated home-building across the Caribbean island but the scale and organization behind the Trelawny heist - amounting to 400m (1,300ft) of strand - raised suspicions that hotels may have been involved.

Jamaica's rampant crime is fueled by competition for another type of white powder, cocaine, but few are laughing at the novelty of sand theft.

The prime minister, Bruce Golding, has reportedly taken a special interest in the case. The opposition People's National party has alleged a cover-up.

Developers of the planned $108m (£63m) Coral Spring complex have suspended operations and commissioned an environmental study into the impact of the missing beach on nearby saltpans, mangroves and dry limestone forests.

The Jamaica Environmental Advocacy Network has expressed concern and urged authorities to investigate hotels which were under construction at the time of the theft.

Builders are supposed to keep records of their supplies, including sand.

Critics claim that corruption has long dogged beach front developments.

"Sand is being kicked in our faces, especially by our current government which cannot see beyond its relationship with the capitalist-minded private sector," wrote an anonymous commentator on abengnews.com.

Police are testing other beaches for traces of the missing sand, and local media reported that some of the sand had been located on beaches on the northern coast. So far there have been no arrests.

A question mark has hung over the constabulary's forensic skills since last year, when it launched a high-profile murder investigation into the death of the Pakistan cricket coach Bob Woolmer only to later rule out foul play.

Last year, thieves in Hungary stole hundreds of tonnes of sand from a riverside resort's artificial beach. Adding insult to injury, the thieves also stripped Mindszentas of its beach huts and sun loungers.