[UPDATED] NO ENTRY for 18

FIVE months after the registration of Venezuelans in TT officially ended, with government registering over 15,000 of these foreigners now in this country, comes word that police held 18 Venezuelans including children at a beach in Carenage, West Trinidad yesterday.

The 18 were swiftly processed by police who found nothing illegal in their bags and other belongings.

The 18 were then placed in a vehicle and driven straight to the Immigration Detention Centre (IDC) in Aripo.

Western Division police sources said the minors were also sent to the IDC.

Police said officers from the Carenage station were on patrol just before 6 am near Smith Hill, when they spotted a pirogue hugging the coastline. The officers radioed for back-up and headed to the beach. As the blue and red coloured pirogue, named “El Chun” reached the shore, police officers saw a group of people, consisting of nine men, six women and three children, with bags.

The group was ordered to remain in the pirogue, which is believed to have originated from Guiria in Venezuela, while police officers boarded it and searched the boat and the bags of the passengers.

The group was taken to the Carenage Police Station and later to the Four Roads Police Station, where they were questioned and their information recorded by immigration officials.

Police said the group was sent to the IDC just after midday.

Contacted for comment, National Security Minister Stuart Young said since the registration of all Venezuelan immigrants ended on June 14, and since then, he noted a sharp decrease in the number of Venezuelans coming to TT illegally.

He also said while there are facilities available at the IDC to accommodate children, the ideal thing would be for the three minors to be in the custody of the Children’s Authority until a determination is made.

“The number of arrivals has decreased significantly during and even before the registration process, it’s a massive reduction from what we’ve seen during that time.

“There are facilities at the IDC, but it depends on the age of the children. But that is something I assume the immigration and police would inform the Children’s Authority of, and from there the authority will make the judgment call,” Griffith said.

Only on Monday, a raid by police at a guest house in Lady Chancellor led to the detention of several women most of whom are non-nationals and which included a 15-year-old girl.

Newsday spoke to Police Commissioner Gary Griffith, who said he was unable to say for certain whether there had been an overall decrease or increase in the influx of Venezuelans after the end of the two-week registration process.

Newsday also tried to contact Chief Immigration Officer Charmaine Gandhi-Andrews for comment but was unsuccessful.

Police sources said that although nothing illegal was found on the Venezuelans they could still face deportation since they reportedly arrived with no documents from the TT Embassy in Caracas giving them express permission to be in Trinidad.

This story was originally published with the title "Venezuelans taken to IDC" and has been adjusted to include additional details. See original post below.

THE 18 Venezuelans found in Smith Hill, Carenage, this morning have been taken to the Immigration Detention Centre (IDC), Aripo, pending further inquiries, police say.

The group consisting of nine men, six women and three children were interviewed and processed by police and immigration officials at the Four Roads Police Station, Diego Martin after they were found shortly after 6 am when the pirogue they were travelling in reached the beach.

Nothing illegal was found in the luggage they were travelling with.

Police said the people were taken by officials to the centre.

Investigators said they were unsure how long they would be kept at the centre.