The Administration of Prime Minister Hon. Dr. Terrance Drew has solemnly promised to clamp down on the trafficking of persons into St. Kitts and Nevis as this is becoming a national security concern with non-nations alighting from boats arriving at the country’s porous borders.

At the recent Prime Minister’s Press Conference with Cabinet Ministers on July 13, the government’s chief legal advisor, Attorney General and Minister of Justice and Legal Affairs, Honourable Garth Lucien Wilkin, said that legislation has been created to deal with this pressing issue.

“We are trying to deal with the smuggling of persons into the Federation. We have created a standalone Anti-Smuggling Bill and amendments to the Immigration Act and the Transnational Crimes Act to address this issue which is becoming heightened and a more frequent national security matter,” he said.  

Smuggling is the illegal transportation of objects, substances, information or people, such as out of a house or building, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations. There are various motivations to smuggle. These include participation in illegal trade, such as the drug trade, illegal weapons trade, prostitution, human trafficking, kidnapping, exotic wildlife trade, art theft, heists, chop shops, illegal immigration or illegal emigration, tax evasion and import restrictions.

Human Smuggling (Photo courtesy: Open Borders)

The terms “human smuggler” or “coyote” are used for people who smuggle people illegally across borders. Coyote fees, which are the fees charged by coyotes for their services, are a measure of the extent of people’s desire to migrate.