More Haitians held after landing along coast of Old Harbour Bay

The largest group was apprehended on Friday, July 17, 2026, during a series of snap raids conducted in the Old Harbour Bay area. According to police reports, a team of police officers searched three dwelling houses between 10:00 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.

Inside one of the targeted homes, the team discovered six Haitian nationals. Upon questioning, the individuals confirmed they had entered the country illegally. They were taken into custody and transported to the Old Harbour Police Station without incident. The police report states they were handed over in good physical condition and made no complaints against the officers. The Passport, Immigration and Citizenship Agency (PICA) has been notified.

The six detainees have been identified as:

- Benel Duvert, 49, construction engineer of Cayes, Haiti

- Rosemarie Meritus, 33, higgler of Cayes, Haiti

- Suze Dennis, 18, unemployed of Cayes, Haiti

- Noe Fleurant, 49, agriculture engineer of Cayes, Haiti

- Fleudina Fleurant, 14, student of Cayes, Haiti

- Noel Jean Baptiste, 30, fisherman of Cayes, Haiti

One blue fishing vessel, suspected to have been used in their journey, was also seized. 

This discovery comes just one day after a separate unsettling encounter in the nearby Bushy Park area of Old Harbour. On Thursday, police arrested two male Haitian nationals found hiding in bushes hours after their boat was spotted offshore.

Senior Superintendent Leighton Grey, Commanding Officer for the St. Catherine South Police, said the Old Harbour Police were alerted around 8:30 a.m. to a strange vessel carrying multiple persons. An initial patrol yielded no immediate results, but growing unease among residents led to a community-assisted search.

“With credible intelligence sources, the police began to conduct searches of the community, and with added police support, a few hours later, two male Haitian nationals were held hiding in bushes,” SSP Grey told Radio Jamaica News. He confirmed the men were positively identified by the Haitian passports in their possession.

In a twist that raises serious humanitarian and security questions, SSP Grey revealed the detained men claimed Jamaica was an unintended stop. “Preliminary investigations revealed that the small vessel had left Haiti, destined to the United States of America, but as they go along, they develop difficulties along the way,” he reported. The men stated they had disembarked solely to seek food for others remaining on the crippled vessel.

However, the fate and whereabouts of the other passengers remain a mystery. SSP Grey confirmed that a subsequent extensive search of the Bushy Park area and the coastline uncovered neither additional Haitian nationals nor the boat that had been sighted.

“We are conducting further investigation to find out if there were others. We couldn’t confirm it if there are others but we are conducting further investigation,” SSP Grey tells Old Harbour News in a follow-up.

Authorities are now grappling with the dual challenge of processing those in custody while investigating the strong possibility that more illegal migrants may have scattered and remain at large in the parish. The back-to-back incidents underscore the perilous journeys being undertaken by Haitian nationals fleeing their crisis-gripped nation, and the mounting concern over Jamaica’s vulnerability as a transshipment point or unintended destination. 

Investigations continue.