Police direct traffic which was diverted from Slipe Road following the bomb threat. - Ricardo Makyn

Chad Bryan, Staff Reporter

Sections of the Corporate Area were flooded with the police and members of the Jamaica Fire Brigade on Tuesday after bomb threats were made against the COK Sodality Credit Union located in Cross Roads and inside the Winchester Business Centre.

"We got a call through the call centre that there was a bomb on the building," said CEO of COK Sodality, Jacqueline Mighty, who pointed out that there was a general sense of panic among the employees.

At the COK Sodality Winchester Business Centre location in Half-Way Tree, St Andrew, the fire brigade responded around 9:23 a.m., resulting in a number of persons being evacuated from the building. This brought a few businesses inside the complex to a temporary closure as the police combed the area.

"Officers from the ordinance team declared it was safe for persons to reoccupy the building," Patrick Gooden, deputy superintendent of the Jamaica Fire Brigade, said.

At the Slipe Road location of COK Sodality, the scene was very much the same, as businesses around the credit union temporarily closed their doors - forcing persons away from the area.

Employees and customers of major businesses such as ScotiaBank, Courts and Singer had to remain behind a cordon established beyond the Carib 5 cinema, while the area was searched by the police.

Traffic also had to be diverted away from this location. Shortly after 12 p.m., word came that the area was safe and the location was reopened for business.

Mighty said she could not say why persons would want to target COK this way. She pointed out that this bomb threat was the third reported. It is unclear when the last bomb threat was made against the business.