Young: 'Trinidad and Tobago does not deport children'

National Security Minister Stuart Young says he has no knowledge of Trinidad and Tobago deporting Venezuelan children without their parents.

Speaking at a media briefing on Tuesday, in response to questions from the media, Young said it is not something that TT encourages.

He was responding to reports that on Sunday a group of 16 children and nine women were deported. This led to their attorney, Nafeesa Mohammed, filing a writ of habeas corpus upheld by Justice Avason Quinlan-Williams, who ordered the Chief of Defence Staff to produce them to the court on Monday

The 25 Venezuelans were put in two unregistered boats and escorted out of TT waters by the Coast Guard.

The group returned to TT and landed in Los Iros Tuesday afternoon.

“How do children end up here without their parents? It is a typical red flag of human trafficking. It is something they are combatting.”

Asked for extent of law enforcement involved in human trafficking, Young said it is nothing new but the frequency seems to be increasing.

He said he does not have the information on which national security agency is involved, but he knows there are operations ongoing to target the human trafficking rings.

He called on the media to “name and shame” the men who charged in relation to human trafficking.

“No one is above the law. Whoever is involved, let them be prosecuted for it.”