MONTEGO BAY, St James — Five people walked free from the St James Parish Court on Wednesday after the prosecution offered no evidence in a case stemming from a police operation at a Montego Bay nightclub.

The accused include three women from the Dominican Republic who were charged with working without permits and two Jamaicans, alleged to be their employers, who were charged with aiding and abetting the offence.

The case arose from an August 1 operation conducted by members of the St James Police Division and the Trafficking in Persons Unit. The team went to a nightclub on Barnett Street in Montego Bay following reports of suspected human trafficking activities at the establishment.

The five individuals appeared before Parish Judge Kaysha Grant-Pryce on Wednesday. They are Marsol Beaz Beaz, Yahaira Jimena Tejeda Sanchez and Naiomi Perez, all from the Dominican Republic, along with Jamaicans Camoy Spence and Nicholas Ricketts. They were represented by attorney-at-law Adrian Dayes.

The three women were charged with working without a permit, while Spence and Ricketts faced charges of aiding and abetting that offence. However, the matter took an unexpected turn when the court was informed that the prosecution would not be proceeding with the charges.

Judge Grant-Pryce asked what had changed.

“How it was explained to me, your honour, is that they entered the club and were dancing but several other persons were dancing around them as well,” the clerk of court responded.

The judge then asked the clerk what the prosecution intended to do. The clerk reiterated that the prosecution intended to offer no evidence, but explained that the difficulty was that defence counsel Dayes had indicated that he would provide his own translator, who was not available on Wednesday.

“I was not prepared to have our translator today. They do understand, though, the difference between guilty and not guilty and if the court wishes to proceed we could do so,” Dayes said.

The five accused were subsequently called upon to plead and each pleaded not guilty.

The prosecution then offered no evidence against all five, bringing the proceedings to an end.

However, before allowing the accused to leave, Judge Grant-Pryce issued a stern warning.

“Something doesn’t sound quite right, Madam clerk, but I am going to tell the two Jamaican nationals that these girls are not supposed to be working here,” the judge said.

She further warned the locals that they could find themselves before the court not only in relation to the women working without permits, but also on matters involving trafficking in persons.

“Trafficking in persons is a serious offence. The world is having an issue with that. Vulnerable persons are being used for work of all kinds. You can find yourself on the other side of the law. You are lucky this morning; these girls were dancing,” she added.

According to the allegations, when the police entered the nightclub, several patrons were seen dancing and consuming alcoholic beverages. Several female exotic dancers were also observed, including the three women from the Dominican Republic.

The women were reportedly dressed similarly to the other females at the establishment.

The police subsequently communicated with the women using
Google Translate on their mobile phones and asked whether they had valid work permits. The women reportedly indicated that they did not. The managers were also questioned and allegedly confirmed that they were not in possession of the required permits. The five were subsequently arrested and charged.

During an earlier hearing, Dayes had told the court that his clients were lawfully in Jamaica and were not working at the time of the police operation.

The prosecution’s decision to offer no evidence on Wednesday resulted in the matter being brought to a close.