The crackdown on illegal activity continues on the Turks and Caicos Islands as the police, customs and immigration have joined forces to beef up patrols at sea to catch irregular migrants and contraband smugglers.
The operation started on Sunday and saw the joint unit board a small Haitian cargo vessel named “Lady Sayou”at sea in search of contraband.
In the following days, the TCI teams were joined by the Royal Bahamas Police Force K9 Unit who assisted with their inspections of suspicious vessels from high risk locations.
In a statement today, Royal Turks and Caicos Police Force (RTCIPF) Commissioner of Police Trevor Botting said: “These joint exercises show the magnitude of collaboration and the RTCIPF’s commitment at addressing maritime challenges alongside our Customs colleagues, with the common denominator being a safe and secure TCI”.
Assistant Collector (Operations) at Customs, Oehlers Higgs said: “The Customs Department is committed to combatting all illicit activity that would perpetrate our shores. The events of the last 36 hours shows what can be achieved working together as a team”.
Officials on the British Overseas Territory have been cracking down on illegal activity following a surge of murders this year due to gang activity.
Anti-crime operations have led to the arrest of several gang leaders and members.
RTCIPF has called on persons, who may have information on criminal activity, to contact their nearest police station.
