PHILIPSBURG--Five men, all nationals of India, and one man from the French side were arrested by police in Philipsburg in the vicinity of the former Suki Supermarket at 6:45pm Tuesday.
According to police, an off-duty police officer, while driving in his private vehicle, noticed four unknown men walking on Kerkhofstraat towards the former Suki Supermarket carrying backpacks. The clothing these men were wearing was soaking wet as though they had been swimming.
The officer did not trust the situation and suspected that something was not right. The officer also noticed that a Hyundai Tucson with licence plate 6074 AAB, in which two other unknown men were sitting, was parked in front of the former supermarket. The four unknown men walked towards the SUV and stepped into the vehicle.
The officer approached the vehicle, identified himself to the driver who is resident on the French side, and asked him what was going on. The driver could not give acceptable answers to the questions and became very nervous, according to police on Wednesday.
The officer immediately contacted the Central Dispatch, who immediately sent other officers to the scene to assist in the situation.
All six persons were arrested on the spot, suspected of human-trafficking/human-smuggling. They were all taken to the Philipsburg headquarters where they are being held for questioning.
