Gov’t Taking the Profit Out of Human Trafficking

The local authorities are working to take the profit out of human trafficking through the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA).

POCA provides for the investigation, identification and recovery of assets garnered through criminal activity.

Speaking at a recent JIS Think Tank, Senior Deputy Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), Lisa Palmer Hamilton, said that “upon conviction, an application can be made under POCA to forfeit the assets of the accused person”.

She pointed out that to ensure successful asset seizure there must be collaboration among the relevant investigative bodies from the start of the prosecutorial process.

“What is important is that the investigative bodies and the Financial Investigation Division must work together from the initial stages of the investigation so that we are not trying to play catch up at the end but the financial profile and everything else that would be necessary to pursue such an application would have begun,” she said.

Mrs. Palmer Hamilton said that there is a close working relationship between the DPP’s office and the investigative bodies “to ensure that there is an airtight investigation so that we can have successful prosecutions.”

She outlined that once there is an investigation, the case is brought to the Human Rights Unit that she heads at the DPP’s office, where the file is completed and submitted to the court.

After drug dealing, trafficking in persons ties with illegal arms as the second largest organised criminal industry in the world.

According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), human trafficking has an estimated 21 million victims and the illicit activity earns approximately US $150 billion in profits each year.