ROSEAU, Dominica – A magistrate this morning slapped fines totaling EC$30,000 on two Dominican nationals charged with human trafficking while dismissing charges of attempting to leave the island illegally against 10 Haitians.

Magistrate Ossie Lewis ordered Clive Joseph, the captain of the boat in which the Haitians were apprehended by the Coast Guard on April 1, to pay a EC$20,000 fine, while his companion, Francis George, was slapped with a EC$10,000 fine.

Earlier this week, the magistrate was forced to adjourn the matter after the defence lawyers for the Haitians had asked that the charges be dismissed.

The lawyers had argued that the three women and seven men should be released based on the premise that the state had no jurisdiction in the matter since the Haitians were arrested six miles off the coast of Dominica and had not left the country.  

The attorneys had also contended that the law does not make provisions for persons caught attempting to leave, but instead for those who have already left Dominican shores.

The magistrate acknowledged that the defendants were definitely within Dominica and agreed that the law does not make provision “for attempting to leave Dominica.  

“There is no such offence of this stature that states attempting to leave,” he added.

This morning, the prosecutor, who had asked for time to consult with the Director of Public Prosecutions on the issue, told the court that the state was withdrawing the charges.