ORANJESTAD – Yesterday, Tuesday, October 5, 2021 a chief police officer was convicted by the Joint Court of Justice on St. Eustatius for human smuggling and forgery. The officer in question had arranged for a woman from the Dominican Republic to be brought to St. Eustatius.

He arranged her application to the IND in which he had indicated that there was family reunification between him and her. This turned out to be incorrect after an investigation. The investigation revealed that there was no question at all of family reunification. The accused police officer’s secondary task was foreign nationals supervision with the specific task of deporting foreign nationals. He could therefore be expected to be aware of immigration procedures and rules.

The judge sentenced the police officer to a prison term of nine months of which three months were suspended with a probation period of two years. The judge took into account the consequences for the police officer involved.

The investigation, led by the OMBES, was conducted by the National Criminal Investigation Department (Rijksrecherche), which investigates criminal acts committed by public officials, including the police. As of last year the Rijksrecherche is permanently present on the Dutch Caribbean (Bonaire, St. Eustatius, Saba) with Bonaire as its base. People interested in knowing more about the work of the National Criminal Investigation Department can visit the website www.rijksrecherche.nl