A total of eighty-six (86) Haitian migrants are currently being detained in Matthew Town, Inagua, after they were apprehended in the southern Bahamas during a joint operation with the US Coast Guard, and Operation Turks and Caicos Bahamas (OPBAT), and the Royal Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF ) on Wednesday afternoon, September 22nd, 2021.
A Haitian sail sloop was spotted and identified by a US aerial reconnaissance on Wednesday. HMBS BAHAMAS under the command of Senior Lieutenant Alexis Brown, which was on routine patrol, proceeded to investigate. Shortly after 1:00 pm, they spotted and apprehended the Haitian wooden sloop 52 nautical miles northwest of Great Inagua.
The migrants (76 men, 10 women), who were in fair health, were subsequently taken onboard the Defence Force vessel and transported to Matthew Town, and handed over to Immigration officials for processing. RBDF Officers and Marines are currently providing security details for the migrants, who are being detained at the local Police Station on the island.
This is the third group of migrants to be apprehended within the past three weeks. On September 9th, a group of forty-one (41) Haitian migrants, was apprehended off Little Inagua after being sighted by a United States Coast Guard helo, and a total of forty-five (45) Haitian nationals were apprehended during a joint operation by members of the Defence Force and the United States Coast Guard and Cuban Border Patrol on Saturday, September 18th, 2021.
Source:
RBDF Public Relations
