St. Maarten News —The infamous Casa Blanca case will be heard in court on October 26. The case involves the exploitation of women, deprivation of liberty and human trafficking at the brothel known as Casa Blanca in Oyster Pond. The decision to hear the case on that day was made in the court of First Instance. On November 16, Casa Blanca’s owner and three managers were arrested on suspicion of human trafficking.
The case has been seen as very instrumental in the government’s fight against human trafficking and was given special mention in the Human Trafficking Report from the US Secretary of State John Kerry. The report disclosed that St. Maarten has been upgraded to a Tier 1 category, meaning it has made significant progress in the fight against human trafficking. In the Casa Blanc investigation, local prosecutor’s office worked together with the Prosecutor’s Office of the Dominican Republic. Based on the investigations, the three main suspects were arrested on suspicion of exploitation of women from that country. The fourth suspect was arrested later for firearm possession. The investigation also included house searches.
A request has been made by the Chief Prosecutor of St. Maarten to the Minister of Justice to suspend Casa Blanca’s business licence while awaiting further criminal investigation and the verdict.
Source: Today SXM October 26 for Casa Blanca case
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