Cops nab prostitutes, pimps

The police have cracked an international human-trafficking ring believed to be operating from an upscale St Andrew neighbourhood.

The Organised Crime Investi-gation Division (OCID), which is leading the probe, said 13 persons, including a man and a woman believed to be the mastermind, have been taken into custody.

According to OCID, the detainees are from Panama, the Dominican Republic, Guyana and one from Italy. The group includes a minor. Investigators say the women were being prostituted for as much as US$3,000.

One investigator said the girls, who speak very little English, were lured to Jamaica on the promise that they would get employment here.

Head of OCID, Superintendent Fitz Bailey, said the police have identified several Jamaicans who they want to question in connection with the ring.

This development comes six months after a scathing United States report which blasted the Jamaican Government for not complying with the established minimum standards to eliminate human trafficking.

"Jamaica is a source, transit, and destination country for women and children trafficked for the purposes of sexual exploitation and forced labour," the report concluded.

The US report conceded that in the past year, Jamaica has made "strong progress" in prosecuting human traffickers and taking steps to stamp out the practice, but said its support services for victims "remained largely inadequate."

Majority are females

Police sources told The Gleaner that a majority of the 13 detainees are females, including one teenager, who were being housed in an upscale St Andrew apartment and lavished with expensive items.

In its statement, OCID said the ring was busted early yesterday morning when its investigators, with help from the Mobile Reserve and Flying Squad, raided a house and a nightclub in St Andrew.

Bailey said his office will be asking the Kingston and St Andrew Corporation and the fire department to examine the premises where the nightclub is located for possible safety breaches.

The US has urged Jamaica to expand efforts to investigate, convict, and punish traffickers, extend training for law-enforcement personnel on human-trafficking issues, increase funding for shelter services and continue awareness campaigns aimed at vulnerable groups.