Twenty-eight Venezuelan nationals including eight children were intercepted by the TT Coast Guard (TTCG) in a Venezuelan registered pirogue on Saturday.
According to the TTCG, at about 4.49 am, coast guard officers whilst on patrol intercepted the pirogue named Love Forever, registration ARSI 0303 in the Gulf of Paria.
Onboard the vessel, officers found 17 men, three women and eight children.
The vessel and its occupants were escorted to the TTCG headquarters, Staubles Bay, Chaguaramas where they were handed over to officials from the Immigration Division.
This was the second major interception to have occurred last week.
On Tuesday, two pregnant Venezuelan women were among 28 Venezuelan nationals intercepted on a pirogue.
In that incident, at about 1.30 am coast guard officers who were conducting maritime border patrols just off the West Coast in the Gulf of Paria observed the pirogue named Dona Isabel registration number ARSI PE 0159 west of Gasper Grande Island sailing full speed towards the coastline.
Onboard, the officers found 18 males and ten females. They were all detained and escorted to Staubles Bay in Chaguaramas at the T&T Coast Guard Headquarters. They were also handed over to Immigration officials.
On November 7, 34 Venezuelans on board were detained in a pirogue named Don Cirilo registration no. ARSI 3715 north-west of Carrera Island that was intercepted by the coast guard.
Aboard were 34 Venezuelan nationals comprising, 16 males, 12 females, three children and three babies.
The vessel and its occupants were taken to the Coast Guard headquarters, Staubles Bay, Chaguaramas where further searches were conducted resulting in the discovery of 50 blocks of cheese and one sack of avocadoes.
That said vessel, the Don Cirilo was also intercepted on November 2 and the occupants at the time were served with rejection orders by the Immigration Division and escorted out of T&T territorial waters.
The TTCG promises continued maritime border patrols and vigilance in maintaining border safety and security.
