SINT MAARTEN (PHILIPSBURG) - Detectives and personnel of the KMAR conducted an operation on Sunday evening, January 08, 2022, as part of an investigation in the sphere of human smuggling that has been ongoing for some time.
During this operation, police arrested four individuals bearing the initials J.L., C.G., C.G-A., and B.L.K. who were engaged in coordinating the transportation of the victims by boat towards nearby islands.
Throughout this action, a combined total of 12 individuals and a toddler were brought in and turned over to immigration personnel.
The four suspects in question were all taken into custody related to this ongoing investigation. Additional arrests are expected.
Human smuggling is the illegal importation of people into a country by deliberately evading immigration laws.
Smugglers disregard the serious dangers associated with smuggling by sea, such as capsizing, hypothermia and drowning of their intended victims.
Instead, these criminals line their pockets by carelessly packing illegal migrants into poorly maintained vessels for a journey across an unpredictable ocean.
If you have information about smuggling operations, please contact the Major Crimes Team at +1 721 542-2222 ext. 208, 211 or 214 or the anonymous tip line 9300.
Source: Souliga Newsday https://www.soualiganewsday.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=47652:law-enforcement-arrests-four-involved-in-human-smuggling-13-detained-by-immigration&Itemid=450
