By The Associated Press From UT San Diego

KINGSTON, Jamaica — Three businessmen in Jamaica have been charged with money laundering after an operation by security forces in several upscale neighborhoods in the Caribbean island’s north.

The three men were formally charged Sunday, two days after they were arrested by police who raided their luxury homes in the Montego Bay area.

Police spokeswoman Dahlia Garrick says the operation was not targeting the island’s notorious lottery scam, but she alleges that evidence collected during the raid suggests the men could have links to that cross-border fraud.

Jamaica’s lottery scam targets mostly elderly people overseas who are told they have to pay upfront fees to collect winnings.

The three money laundering suspects were due to appear in a magistrate’s court Wednesday. It is not clear if they had lawyers.

For more on this story go to:

http://abcnews.go.com/International/t/story/charged-money-laundering-jamaica-raid-20132418