NASSAU, Bahamas (CMC) – Bahamian authorities say they have detained nine people including one Jamaican on board an 18-foot vessel off the West end Grand Bahama coast.
They said the nine people, including one Bahamian and six from the Dominican Republic, were detained by the Royal Bahamas Defence Force patrol craft, P 129 on Monday.
“The Defence Force vessel was alerted by Operation Bahamas, Turks and Caicos (OPBAT) officials to a vessel in distress off West End. The nine occupants were found aboard the vessel by Defence Force marines and subsequently taken into custody, according to an official statement issued here.
It said that while the eight foreigners including a Lithuanian national would be interrogated by police and immigration officials, “the Bahamian national is expected to be charged with human smuggling”.
The Coast Guard said that it had also rescued four members of a 100-foot Haitian freighter than ran aground near Lynard Cay, southeast of Marsh Harbour, Abaco on Sunday.
“No one was hurt during the incident and the vessel was re-floated without further incident.”