SURINAME: POLICE TIP UNIT RESCUES TWO TEENAGE MINORS

UNCLAS PARAMARIBO 000434 SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR WHA/CAR JACKIE ROSHOLT G/TIP FOR JANE SIGMON WHA/PPC FOR SCOTT MILLER E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV KTIP SNAR NS SUBJECT: SURINAME: POLICE TIP UNIT RESCUES TWO TEENAGE MINORS ¶1. (SBU) Summary. During a routine nightclub check, officers from the Surinamese Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Unit discovered two minor teenage Guyanese girls being used for sexual exploitation. The club manager was arrested and her daughter, also under suspicion of involvement, is being sought by the police. The club's owner is the former District Secretary for Nickerie and has served a prior sentence for trafficking in persons in a separate case. The Police TIP Unit has provided Post with a list of known prostitution locations in Suriname, five of which are owned by one U.S. citizen and her husband. End Summary. ¶2. (U) On September 27, officers from the Surinamese Police Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Unit discovered two female teenage minors from Guyana at the Nickerie nightclub "House of Mouse." Lead Investigator of the Police TIP Unit, Vincent Wijngaarde, told Poloff that, upon interviewing the girls, the officers learned that they had been recruited from Guyana and brought to Nickerie for sexual exploitation at the nightclub. The police arrested the nightclub manager, a Guyanese woman who has lived in Suriname for several years, and are actively searching for the manager's daughter, who is also believed to have been involved in the case. ¶3. (U) The official owner of the nightclub is former Nickerie District Secretary Hesdy Veira, who was arrested and convicted of TIP in a separate case in 2005. He was sentenced to two and a half years imprisonment in that case and was subsequently released in ¶2007. Investigator Wijngaarde said that Veira has claimed ignorance of the current case and has laid full blame on the club manager. Still, the police investigators are looking at whether Veira was involved or knew about the trafficking. ¶4. (SBU) After their rescue, the two minors were released into the care of the TIP Foundation, which has been designated by the Government of Suriname as the entity responsible for victim protection. Still undetermined is whether the victims will remain in Suriname for the prosecution of their trafficker(s) or at what point they will be repatriated. ¶5. (SBU) The Police TIP Unit also provided Post with a list of known prostitution locations, which they monitor regularly for TIP victims. Post notes that one family enterprise that owns five locations is run by a couple, and the wife is a U.S. citizen. Another unrelated location is run by a former police inspector. ¶6. (SBU) Comment. In the past few years, Post has actively undertaken projects to support the Police TIP Unit, including but not limited to providing equipment and vehicles which enable the Unit to continue its monitoring efforts. The Police TIP Unit's regular checks on known prostitution locations have resulted in noteworthy TIP victim identification, substantially advancing Government of Suriname TIP interdiction efforts. Post will now focus more resources on victim protection based on the documented successes of the TIP Unit in identifying TIP victims. End Comment. SCHREIBER HUGHES