On Saturday March 27, immigration and border protection officers, with the help of the Dutch Caribbean Coast Guard and the prosecution, arrested the captain of a ship called “Anansi”.
IBP officers were alerted by a concerned citizen to the presence of a foreign vessel moored in a Great Bay marina. While inspecting the ship, officers encountered a man nearby who was later identified as the ship's captain. It became evident that the latter had not reported his arrival in Sint Maarten as required by law, as he could not show proof of the clearance of his vessel. The captain said he traveled to Sint Maarten with a passenger who was in possession of immigration clearance documents and the person had been to Philipsburg before.
While the IBP officers were busy at the scene, they ordered the captain with the initials PE to come to their office to show this evidence but he did not surrender within the allotted time. The IBP authorities then alerted the Dutch Caribbean Coast Guard. Coast Guard patrol sighted the ship and the captain and, with permission from the public prosecutor, he was arrested on suspicion of human trafficking and turned over to the police for further investigation.
Reports received by authorities indicated that several people had been seen disembarking from the ship, but were already on the island.
Also, the captain's statement had changed from his original statement that he said he was traveling alone and ended up in Sint Maarten after having engine problems and was unable to present proof of passport or discharge documents. An investigation into this matter is underway. _AF
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