Thieves have stolen a beach in Jamaica.
The action prompted Prime Minister Bruce Golding to launch an investigation into the theft of 500 truckloads of white sand from a $110 million beachfront development site at Coral Spring in Trelawny, on the island's northwest coast, according to published reports.
The robbery has jeopardized the future of the 64-acre project, which is supposed to include 36 luxury villas with a spa, restaurant, theater and marina in its first phase. All construction work and international marketing and promotional plans are on hold.
A consortium of Jamaican and overseas investors backing the development said that the quarter-mile white-sand beach "now looks like a mined-out quarry."
How the removal of 500 truckloads of sand could go unnoticed is one question, and the hiding spot of the pilfered powder is another, according to Fredrik Moe, managing director of the development.
"We intend to use every available legal angle to resolve this," Moe said. "These people must be punished."
