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The
Royal Bahamas Defence Force patrol craft, P 129, apprehended 9 foreign
nationals including 1 Bahamian, 1 Jamaican, 6 Dominicans, and 1
Lithuanian around
10 a.m. this morning off West End, Grand Bahama aboard an 18-foot vessel.
The
Defence Force vessel was alerted by Operation Bahamas, Turks and Caicos
(OPBAT) officials to a vessel in distress off West End. The 9 occupants
were found aboard the vessel by Defence Force marines and subsequently
taken into custody.
The
apprehended persons were handed over to Police and Immigration
authorities in West End for further investigation and processing. The
Bahamian national is expected to be charged with human smuggling.
Earlier
on Sunday
morning, the Defence Force vessel, P 48 , assisted 4 crew members
aboard a 100-foot Haitian freighter that ran aground near Lynard Cay,
southeast of Marsh Harbour, Abaco around
8 a.m that morning. No one was hurt during the incident and the vessel was re-floated without further incident.
