Kerry Nixon, Acting Chief Immigration Officer

Authorities believe they have put a dent in the illegal transportation of people from Cuba and Honduras with the sentencing of two Honduran nationals here last week.

Casey Hynds, 29, and Wilmer Herrara, 30, were both arrested last month by police for illegally landing and causing/allowing a person to land illegally.

Boat owner and captain, Casey Hynds, was sentenced to nine months, while Herrara received three months imprisonment. In addition, the boat, satellite phone and Global Positioning System (GPS) were forfeited to the Immigration Department.

Acting Chief Immigration Officer Kerry Nixon said the department is pleased with the sentence and hopes that it will be a deterrent to other potential offenders.

She said that the men’s arrest, conviction and imprisonment indicate that agencies within key Cayman Islands Government departments are united in the fight to curtail illegal migration.

Court documents reveal that on Saturday, 24 May the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service (RCIPS) Marine Unit advised Immigration officials that they had apprehended two men suspected of entering Cayman illegally. One confessed to a scheme that would transport up to 30 Cuban migrants to Honduras in a 38-foot “go fast” vessel.

Mrs Nixon congratulated her officers, the RCIPS and Customs for their roles in bringing the migrant-smugglers to justice.

Assistant Chief Immigration Officer for Enforcement Jeanie Lewis also said that the department is still investigating the person whom it is believed provided coordinates to enter Caymanian waters and fuel dock, and then paid for oil and fuel following the men’s illegal entry.