MARIGOT–Seven defendants were in the Marigot court just before the Christmas break facing significant prison sentences for their involvement in the 2013 sinking of a Saintoise boat overloaded with migrants attempting to reach St. Thomas in the US Virgin Islands.
The incident occurred on June 30, 2013, after midnight when the seven-metre-long vessel God is good sank in the channel between St. Martin and Anguilla after its motor failed and water entered the vessel due to the weight of the migrant cargo.
Some 20 migrants of Brazilian and Dominican Republic origin and the captain were on board after having departed from Baie Rouge Beach. Three persons drowned, six disappeared and 12 were rescued, some by sea rescue service SNSM and the Gendarmerie’s Brigade Nautique.
The migrants waited in hotels for news of the departure date, having paid US $1,800 each for the crossing. The captain E.L. accepted to undertake the crossing on the boat for $4,000. E.L. was recruited for the job by A.D.M. from the Dominican Republic.
E.L. is charged with involuntary homicide, non-assistance to persons in danger, aiding illegal entry, and aiding the circulation of illegal persons. He faces four years in prison.
A.D.M. was in charge of the smuggling operation, finding the boat and the captain, and negotiating the price for the crossing. He faces three years in prison for involuntary homicide, non-assistance to persons in danger, aiding illegal entry, and aiding the circulation of illegal persons.
A.D. was the mechanic who worked on the engine of the Saintoise boat on the request of his father F.D. who is suspected of selling the boat to the traffickers. When the boat’s motor failed F.D. called A.D. to go out and see what he could do to repair the engine, but the boat was already sinking. A.D. rescued 10 of the migrants in his Zodiac, including the captain. A.D. denied any knowledge of the smuggling operation. He faces one year in prison and six months suspended.
J.A. facilitated the accommodations for some of the migrants in a villa in Baie Rouge and is looking at one year in prison.
J.F.S., not in court but under judicial control, was the one responsible for finding the boat and for driving the Brazilian migrants to the beach. He faces three years in prison and one suspended.
E.D.P.V.N. the one in charge of the Brazilian migrants, also faces three years in prison and one suspended.
The judge will announce the sentences on January 24, 2019.
Source: The Daily Herald https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islands/83970-court-hears-testimony-of-seven-facing-charges-in-2013-human-smuggling-case
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