The Tribune

NEARLY 150 Haitian migrants were apprehended during a joint operation by law enforcement officers and US Coast Guard in waters off Inagua yesterday.

The Royal Bahamas Defence Force said it was alerted to the 45-foot vessel powered by a single outboard engine via intel from OPBAT on Wednesday.

A team of officers from Inagua, under the command of Chief Petty Officer Mark Hall were deployed as result.

They located and intercepted the vessel some 17 miles northeast of Great Inagua.

Upon arrival, the RBDF found 146 people on board. Of this number, 111 were men, 30 were women, two were boys and three were girls.

The vessel was subsequently escorted to Matthew Town, Great Inagua where the migrants were handed over to the relevant authorities for further processing.

“Under the leadership of Commander Defence Force, Commodore Floyd Moxey, the RBDF is optimising excellence by bridging generations and embracing modernisation.”

“As such, we commend the professionalism and coordination demonstrated by all participating agencies, and reaffirm our commitment to intelligence-drive, collaborative operations that safeguard the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.”