Mother, son in quartet charged with trafficking persons
THE Police have charged two men and two women following investigations into a history making case of trafficking persons in the hinterland. Omefa Paul, 38, of Lot ‘E’ Hadfield Street, Wortmanville, Georgetown; Stephan Andrew Fraser and Abigail Anderson, both of Lot 76 Middle Street, Pouderoyen, West Bank Demerara; and Wesley Hart, of Queenstown Village, Essequibo Coast, all appeared before Magistrate Hazel Octive-Hamilton yesterday.
One of the indictable charges said Paul, between April 17 and 20, at Itaballi, conspired together with Anderson to, by means of fraud, transport and harbour four females for the purpose of exploitation.
The charge against Fraser said, between April 15 and 20, also at Itaballi, he conspired together with Anderson by means of fraud, as well, to transport and harbour four females for the purpose of exploiting them.
Anderson faced two charges, one of which said, on April 15, at New Amsterdam, Berbice, she, by means of fraud, engaged in trafficking persons by transporting and harbouring four females also for the same purpose.
The other charge said, between April 15 and 20, at Itaballi, she harboured four females, by means of fraud, for the purpose of exploitation.
The allegation against Hart is that between April 15 and 20, at Itaballi, he conspired together with Anderson, by means of fraud, to transport and harbour four females to exploit them.
Attorney-at-law Ms. Shellon Boyce, for Paul, said she works with Anderson as a cook in the interior.
Other lawyer, Ms. Onika Archer, for Anderson and Fraser, said the last is the son of the other accused.
Archer said Anderson operates a general store in the interior and her son does mining there. Defence Counsel said the only crime the mother and son have committed was hiring the virtual complainants to work in the store.
She also represented Hart and requested bail for all of the trio, pointing out that they have no previous convictions.
Police Sergeant Lionel Harvey, prosecuting, had no objection to the grant of pre-trial liberty but requested substantial surety.
Paul was ordered to lodge $250,000; Fraser and Hart $200,000 each and Anderson $500,000.
The quartet will be back in Court on May 17, for report and fixture.
There have been persistent reports, in recent times, about young women being lured into the gold mining locations (referred to as ‘The Bush’) for prostitution but no known prosecutions have previously resulted.