St. Maarten – Human smuggling

PHILIPSBURG – On Sunday, July 13 and Monday July 14, 2015, actions were taken by the Prosecutor’s Office as a part of an ongoing investigation in relation to human trafficking.

The investigation concerns the smuggling of persons via Sint Maarten en route to the U.S. Virgin Islands. In the course of this investigation, a total of 18 people were arrested at three (3) different locations.  Additionally, a search was carried out on two of the locations. During the search, money, documents and phones were confiscated.

Of those arrested twelve (12) were victims and have been transferred to the Immigration and Border Protection Service (IGD) and are being held in detention. The remaining six (6) persons have been placed in preventive custody.

The investigation was unprecedented as it utilized the skills and competencies of the multidisciplinary team that was established in March 2015 in respect to human trafficking and smuggling. This team is under the responsibility of the KPSM. The team is comprised of the Immigration and Border Protection Service (IGD), the Royal Military Police (KMar) and The Police Force of St. Maarten (KPSM).