Dude, Where's My Beach? Five Hundred Truckloads of Sand Swiped from Jamaican Resort

Where: Jamaica

October 19, 2008 at 2:29 PM | by Victor Ozols | 1 Comment

You know your country has a little theft problem when people are stealing sand from beaches. Authorities are on the trail of a team of thieves who boosted about five hundred truckloads of pristine beach sand from a planned resort at Coral Springs Beach in northwest Jamaica's Trelawny Parish. A theft of this magnitude can be devastating to a beach resort, and the project has been put on hold until they can recover or replenish their most important asset.

As weird as it seems, it's not an isolated incident. As the BBC points out, "illegal sand mining" is a major problem in Jamaica, with strong demand for sand to improve beaches and feed the construction industry drawing criminals of all stripes to the lucrative trade.

Still, how hard can it be to find out where a 400-meter beach went? So far, no arrests have been made and no witnesses have come forward with information about the theft, which occurred in July. There are whispers that some members of the police department may have been in on the heist, which might explain why nobody saw nothing. Still, ongoing forensic tests at beaches along the coast might find a match, and beach bums will once again be able to dig their toes into the sand in this laid-back island paradise.

[Photo: jamaicaguide.net]

Related Stories:
· Jamaica Puzzled by Theft of Beach [BBC News]
· Beach Coverage [Jaunted]

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