A 57-year-old man from the Dominican Republic has been charged with smuggling people into Montserrat and participating in an organised crime group.
Crawford Sabaroche has been remanded in custody at His Majesty’s Prison in Brades and is awaiting trial, a police press release said on 26 February.
His charges are related to an illegal vessel that was spotted encountering difficulties off the coast of Montserrat in the island’s exclusion zone at about 11.30am on 30 January.
Sabaroche was the captain of the boat which contained 18 men, women and children from Haiti.
Police intercepted the vessel and all of the passengers were recovered safely before being taken to Little Bay for processing.
On 17 February, the Immigration Department and the Royal Montserrat Police Service (RMPS) in a joint operation repatriated the passengers.
The press release police said: “Human smuggling or trafficking exploits vulnerable people.
“The RMPS remains committed to working in partnership locally and regionally to safeguard victims and bring offenders involved in such criminality to justice.”
Anyone with information on the arrival can contact police on (664) 491-2555 or email rmpspolice@gmail.com
