Trini boat captain arrested for assisting illegal immigrants

A 45-year-old Las Cuevas man is expected to appear before a Port of Spain magistrate on Friday after he was charged with 32 counts of assisting Venezuelan nationals to enter TT at a place other than a port of entry.

The man who is a boat captain was arrested on Saturday when his fishing boat was intercepted by police, coast guard and immigration officers.

Investigators found 32 Venezuelans aboard the boat.

The boat captain and the immigrants were placed in quarantine and interviewed by police.

Police said boat captains are being paid as much as US $300 per passenger.

If summarily convicted the captain can face a fine of $50,000 or three years or second conviction of $100,000 or five years.