00:00Last night, police nabbed 54 women at a property in Kanupia believed to be connected to a sex ring.
00:07Investigators say 47 foreign nationals and 7 local women were taken into custody during the exercise.
00:14Patrons present at the property were reportedly temporarily detained, handcuffed and questioned by officers who were attached to the counter
00:22-trafficking unit.
00:23The detainees were processed using a data capture system and held for questioning until early Monday morning under the current
00:31state of emergency regulations.
00:34The counter-trafficking unit tells TV6 none of the foreign nationals detained in the operation in Kanupia were victims of
00:40human trafficking.
00:42Meantime, the CTU reports that five human trafficking cases have already been recorded for 2026.
00:48Vanessa Cutting has more.
00:49The counter-trafficking unit confirms that 47 Latin American females were among 54 women arrested during a police exercise in
01:00Kanupia on Sunday morning.
01:01However, the unit says none were determined to be victims of human trafficking.
01:07The counter-trafficking unit conducted a screening of 47 Latin American females.
01:12However, none of them were deemed a victim of trafficking.
01:17So, the inquiries into other matters that are under the legislative umbrella of the law is being conducted by Trinidad
01:24-Rico Police Service.
01:26Ms. Marshall explains very specific criteria must be met to certify an individual as a victim of human trafficking.
01:34We look at the situation during the screening process that the persons present to us when we question them in
01:44the screening process.
01:45And it takes a little time, so I think the screening ended late yesterday evening, but we were able to
01:51be satisfied that none of those women that was found at that exercise were actually victims of trafficking.
01:58Obviously, once they are not deemed victims of trafficking, they were there, they were present there at their own free
02:07will and violation, yes.
02:09Acting on information, officers attached to the Special Intelligence Unit went to the property along Marshall Trace in Kanupia on
02:17Sunday, where they detained the woman.
02:20The counter-trafficking unit is asking members of the public to be on the lookout for suspicious activity.
02:27When you see persons looking disheveled, you're observing that they are obviously always escorted persons in an area and you
02:39find that somebody is more overpowering in terms of discussion and speaking on their behalf.
02:45I mean, just plain old body language and intuition, miscutting, communicate with the counter-trafficking unit and we will look
02:54into it, 842.
02:56And it's important to note, victims of trafficking are not just foreign national persons.
03:02The first conviction in Trinidad and Tobago, the victim was a Trinidad and Tobago child, female, minor, right?
03:10So we cannot stereotype trafficking in persons only in the direction of foreign national people.
03:16In 2024, the unit identified 31 confirmed trafficking victims and arrested at least nine persons.
03:25In 2025, over $150,000 in illicit proceeds were seized and the unit continues to make inroads.
03:35The counter-trafficking unit has reported confirming 27 victims of trafficking in 2025 and so far in 2026, we have
03:48confirmed five victims of trafficking.
03:51We have gone into a place where we have started to look at the proceeds of crime.
03:55We are following the money in relation to this because we feel that this is one of the best ways,
04:01mechanisms of crippling criminal activity.
04:05And also our Trafficking in Prison Act covers that area for forfeiture when there is a conviction.
04:14So we are looking closely at that.
04:17Renasa Cutting, TV6 News.
04:20Renasa Cutting, TV6 News.
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