00:00Deputy Director of the Counter-Trafficking Unit, Dane-Marie Marshall, stressed that law enforcement and stakeholder collaboration will be key
00:09to identifying and preventing cases of trafficking and sexual exploitation, while raising public awareness about the signs of human trafficking
00:19and the importance of reporting suspicious activity.
00:23Two, three percent, but then we are recognizing that girls who started exploitation in Trinidad are being brought to Tobago.
00:30And if something is activity, we don't want to encourage.
00:34What message do you want to say to traffickers over there?
00:37The Counter-Trafficking Unit is not going to encourage that type of behavior. And we will come to Tobago, we
00:43will go to any part of Trinidad, and we will find you and we will deal with you.
00:47Marshall spoke in Tobago on Tuesday during the unveiling of a billboard along the Claude Newell Highway, Chauvin, near the
00:55licensing division, labeled,
00:57Don't buy sex. It could cost you everything. Buying sex ruins lives. The Deputy Director said migrant girls are being
01:06lured to Tobago.
01:07And it's because of these particular trends we are seeing where migrant girls are being lured via some deceptive means
01:15to Tobago, and they are sexually exploited here.
01:18She said intelligence has shown that periods of major events and increased visitor arrivals in Tobago often coincide with a
01:28rise in the movement of vulnerable women to the island,
01:32raising concerns about sexual exploitation and human trafficking.
01:37Marshall disclosed that over the weekend, officers from the Counter-Trafficking Unit conducted a targeted operation in Tobago,
01:45resulting in the rescue of several women who were allegedly victims of sex trafficking.
01:51The operation was carried out in the Signal Hill, Bonacol areas and in Trinidad as part of an intensified crackdown
01:59on human trafficking and the exploitation of vulnerable persons.
02:04She said the support of local, regional and international agencies remain crucial.
02:10We continue to get the support of the U.S. Embassy and the U.S. Government.
02:15Trinidad and Tobago still sits at Tier 2, and we are really trying to move to Tier 1.
02:20Tier 2 says that we are a good place in terms of how we are treating with trafficking in persons,
02:25but Tier 1 is the ultimate goal,
02:27and together as a team, that's our plan, that's our goal.
02:30The hotline for the Counter-Trafficking Unit, 800-4CTU or 800-4288, WhatsApp 702-0467.
02:43Elizabeth Williams, TV6 News.
Comments