Two farm workers die in Canada crash as Ranker Gang suspects win bail

Two Jamaican seasonal agricultural workers died Thursday afternoon in a traffic collision in Canada, Labour and Social Security Minister Pearnel Charles Jr. has confirmed.

Rupert Bell and David Lindsay were travelling together when the crash occurred at about 5:00 p.m. Full details were not available at press time, but their employer indicated they may have been on a Kubota tractor that was struck by another motor vehicle in the St. Catherine area. Unconfirmed reports suggest an occupant of the other vehicle may also have died. Canadian authorities are investigating.

Charles Jr. said Bell had taken part in the programme since 2013 and Lindsay since 2007. Both men arrived in Canada for the current season on March 18, 2026. The minister said Jamaica is in close contact with the Jamaican Liaison Service in Canada, the employer, and Canadian officials, and offered condolences to the families.

In the Supreme Court, Justice Leighton Pusey on Thursday granted bail to three alleged Ranker Gang members who had been in custody since 2023: David Henry, Constable Teneil Francis, and Tevin Henriques. Alleged leader Constable Tafari Silvera remains behind bars pending a further bail hearing in July.

The three join co-accused Jasset Brown, Constable Daniel O'Barnes, Oval McKenzie, and Constable Rogey Morrison, who are already on bail under stricter conditions including curfew orders, surrender of travel documents, and airport stop orders. Eight people — four police officers and four civilians, including one woman — face charges under the Criminal Justice (Suppression of Criminal Organisations) Act. Prosecutors have linked the group to 17 offences across several parishes between 2019 and 2021.

Repeated trial delays, including dates vacated in 2025 and again after a readiness hearing in early 2026, led defence lawyers to argue the men could not be held indefinitely while the Crown's case files remained incomplete.

Separately, 55-year-old Terrence Austin of Kintyre Road, St. Andrew, has been charged with larceny as a servant after more than $2 million went missing from an ATM at a financial institution. Investigators say Austin, a contracted security officer responsible for clearing the machine and a cheque deposit vault, allegedly removed $2,045,300. The shortage was discovered on May 29; police were notified on June 11 and Austin was charged on June 16.

National Security Minister Dr. Horace Chang on Thursday rejected suggestions that Ambassador Audrey Marks initiated Jamaica's third-country nationals arrangement with the United States. Reports citing a US Embassy diplomatic note had named Marks as the proposer, but Chang said he could not confirm that account. He maintained that no criminals would be sent to Jamaica under the deal, which allows transfers of up to 25 individuals every two weeks subject to safeguards.

Opposition Leader Mark Golding called for a parliamentary review and said Dr. Chang should face scrutiny over whether he misled the House on Wednesday about who opened talks with Washington. "I think there is a basis for this matter to be referred to the Privileges Committee of Parliament so that the question of whether the Minister of National Security lied to Parliament yesterday can be looked into and investigated and dealt with appropriately," Golding said.

Information Minister Dr. Dana Morris Dixon later reaffirmed the government's position that the United States initiated the third-country nationals programme, and said it should not be confused with separate talks on attracting skilled workers involving Marks.