A joint operation between the Royal Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF), the Royal Bahamas Police Force (RBPF) Marine Unit and Operation Bahamas Turks and Caicos (OPBAT) resulted in the interception of forty-eight (48) Haitian migrants on Tuesday, 20 December off Great Inagua.On Tuesday morning OPBAT reported a sighting to the RBDF Operations Command Center of a 40ft Haitian Sailing Vessel (HSV) approximately one nautical mile off Great Inagua with around fifty (50) persons onboard. A safe boat attached to HMBS Matthew Town Base was shortly dispatched to the area investigate. Upon arrival, members of the Southern Command discovered the vessel with an undetermined number of migrants onboard, who were then transported by RBDF safe boat to Matthew Town, Inagua. An official count resulted in a total of forty-eight (48) migrants consisting of thirty-six (36) males, six (6) females and six minors (1 male and 5 female). The migrants arrived at Matthew Town, Inagua yesterday morning and were handed over to Immigration officials for further processing. The Royal Bahamas Defence Force remains committed to collaborating with local and international partner agencies in protecting the territorial integrity of The Bahamas and keeping our borders secured.
