PHILIPSBURG--Two more employees of the Immigration Service have been arrested as suspects of human smuggling, bribery and abuse of their function. K.L.M.B. (34) and A.A.D. (33) were held around 6:20am on Tuesday.
They were detained as the result of a lengthy investigation that has been ongoing since April 2016, code-named “Ostrich.” It concerns a probe carried out by the Unit Human Trafficking and People Smuggling of the St. Maarten Police Force KPSM into the illegal admittance of Jamaicans and Haitians. The arrests were carried out by members of this unit in conjunction with the National Detectives Agency.
Last November 14 another employee of the department J.M. was held in the same investigation. She is still detained, while her partner D.F. who had also been arrested has been released from pre-trial detention. He remains a suspect in the case.
