Two men were arrested and eight Latin American females—inclusive of two minors—were rescued from a house in Chaguanas, during an anti-crime exercise, conducted in the Central Division, on Thursday 15 September 2022.
And the Police Service is encouraging members of the public to “Say something” if they “See something” which could be an indication of human trafficking occurring in their community.
News of the raid was confirmed in an official statement from the Police Service, which reported that the operation was the culmination of “a meticulous human trafficking investigation, spearheaded by Assistant Commissioner of Police – Criminal Division, Sharon Gomez-Cooper; and coordinated by Sgt. Walters and Cpl Ramsarran of the Counter-Trafficking Unit.
According to the official police report, the exercise was conducted between 3 am and 2 pm on Thursday 15 September 2022.
“The eight victims were rescued and their captors arrested, while several items of evidential value were seized from the location,” the TTPS statement reported.
Investigations are ongoing.
The exercise included officers of the Special Investigations Task Force and the Multi-Option Police Section (MOPS).
The Police Service is urging members of the public to report suspected instances of human trafficking in their communities, by calling 999, 555, 800-TIPS or 800-4CTU
Especially in the case of women and children, the following are indicators that a person may be a victim of human trafficking:
–Appearing malnourished,
–Showing signs of physical injuries and abuse,
–Avoiding eye contact, social interaction, and authority figures/law enforcement,
–Seeming to adhere to scripted or rehearsed responses in social interaction,
–Lacking official identification documents,
–Appearing destitute/lacking personal possessions,
–Working excessively long hours,
–Living at place of employment,
–Poor physical or dental health,
–Tattoos/ branding on the neck and/or lower back, and
–Untreated sexually transmitted diseases.