5 Haitians Charged For Illegal Entry

The Royal Montserrat Police Service (RMPS) has reported that the five Haitian males who landed illegally on the island have been officially charged with the offence.

They were taken before the court on Thursday January 20, 2022.

Commissioner of Police, Steve Foster told ZJB News that the five have been remanded in Her Majesty’s Prison for seven days following which they would return to court.

He says that in the interim, inquiries are continuing into what he describes as a very series matter.

The RMPS launched a rapid investigation just over a week ago into what appeared to be a human trafficking ring here.

A senior Police Officer told ZJB News then that the organization received some information on the possible case of human trafficking in the southern part of Montserrat in the Gingoes area.

The RMPS launched an operation to ascertain the credibility of the data.

It said that five Haitian males were found and that they were assisting the RMPS with their investigation, to include affiliation to persons on island and the extent of human trafficking.

Several other agencies and organizations provided ground support in the operation – the Custom Division, the Royal Montserrat Defence Force, the Montserrat Volcano Observatory and the Ministry of health since the operation is taking place in a Covid-19 environment.

Commissioner Foster is asking persons with information that might help in the investigation to come forward emphasizing that their input would be held in the strictest of confidence.