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by pltm
(PLTM) - The man accused of smuggling 10 Haitian nationals into the British Virgin Islands was not granted bail because of his lack of status in the territory and will be placed on remand at Her Majesty’s Prison.
Crawford Sabaroch, 53, who is a native of Dominica residing in St Maarten did not enter a plea to the charges of Being Engaged in Illegal Smuggling and Illegal Entry when he made his first appearance before the court via Zoom.
According to Crown Counsel Mellissa Brewley, members of the Joint Agency Task Force were patrolling the territorial waters on June 25 when they received a tip that there were persons disembarking from a vessel off Prickly Pear Island.
Being that the territory’s borders were closed, and Prickly Pear was not an official port of entry, the officers headed there to investigate.
On their way, the officers met the defendant, Mr Sabaroch, the boat captain, located north-west of the island.
After identifying themselves, they questioned the defendant on the reason for his presence, and he responded that he had engine problems since June 23 off the coast of St. Baths and had drifted into the territory’s waters.
He said he was not aware that the BVI was closed to visitors and he said he did not seek any permission by the authorities before coming into the Territory.
Haitians Found
Brewley said following their conversation with the defendant, they proceeded to search Prickly Pear and found the first five men and one woman in a small building.
One of the Haitians told the officers that a total of 10 of them arrived in the Territory on a white boat from St. Marteen.
The boat was later identified as that of the defendant.
As a result of the information, the next day, they returned to the island and searched again, and found two more individuals, and another two on Leverick Bay on Virgin Gorda.
The ten Haitians and the defendant were taken into police custody and later brought to the Paradise Suites Hotel which has been named a prison to house persons in quarantine during this pandemic.
The Haitians will be deported, and the defendant will be prosecuted.
The matter was adjourned to July 23, 2020.
He is unrepresented but is hoping to secure representation for the criminal proceedings.
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