“Yankee” sentenced to 4 years for trafficking Jamaica nationals

The Guyana Police Force (GPF) has secured two human trafficking convictions in less than one month. This time, a 44-year-old man, was on Thursday, found guilty by Magistrate Wanda Fortune of trafficking two Jamaican nationals as well as withholding their passports.
Tito Browne, known as “Tommy” and “Yankee”, of Linden, Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice), was sentenced to four years’ imprisonment on each of the two counts of Trafficking in Person (TIP). The sentences will run concurrently. He was also handed a one-year jail sentence on a count of withholding the foreign nationals’ passport. In addition to the prison terms, the convict was also fined $200,000 and ordered to pay $6,300,000 restitution to the victims.

According to a report from Police Headquarters, Browne was arrested on April 28, 2021, and charged contrary to Section 3 (1)(a) and Section 4 of the Combating of Trafficking in Persons Act after the Guyana Police Force (GPF) had issued a wanted bulletin for him the day prior.
He had been on trial for the offences for several months at the Linden Magistrate’s Court. During the proceedings, the two male victims and several Police ranks were called to testify.
According to the prosecution’s facts, in November 2020, one of the victims met an individual in Trelawney, Jamaica, who indicated to him that Browne had some farming work for him to do in Kara Kara Creek, Guyana, and that he was willing to pay US$5000 for the work to be done.
The first victim then informed the second victim about the opportunity, and together they arranged with Browne, who promised to facilitate all their travel expenses.
They then left Jamaica on December 12, 2020. When they arrived in Guyana, Browne instructed them to inform immigration that they would only be spending two weeks.
Upon arriving at the campsite at Kara Kara Creek, Browne informed them that they would be spending six months at the campsite and confiscated their passports.
The victims recounted that from the date of entry to April 24, 2021, they worked at the Kara Kara camp but never received any compensation from Browne.
The victims added that Browne would visit periodically and demand that they work more diligently. He also continuously promised to pay them but never did.
The duo stated that they could only contact their family on Browne’s phone when he visited. They recounted being unable to travel from the campsite and related that for the last three weeks, no one visited them, which caused their supplies to run low.
Eventually, the victims were forced to venture from the camp in search of other campsites, walking through bushes and swamplands until they managed to locate a logger who eventually took them to a village where they related their story and made a Police report.
An investigation was immediately launched, which eventually led to Browne’s arrest and prosecution. The case was prosecuted by Assistant Superintendent of Police Pindar-Whittaker.
Only recently, the Guyana Police Force secured a conviction against 64-year-old Feezal Shaw, a wildlife trader, who was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment on one count of human trafficking and ordered to pay $2,127,000 in restitution to the survivor, a Venezuelan national.
The Government’s commitment to preventing human trafficking has been demonstrated in the implementation of several policies and collaborations with various stakeholders, including the Guyana Police Force (GPF); Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC); Maritime and Airport security officials; medical professionals; and Education, Welfare, and Guidance officers.
Notably, Guyana has maintained its Tier One status in the US Department of State 2022 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report. According to the report, “The Government of Guyana fully meets the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking. The Government continued to demonstrate serious and sustained efforts during the reporting period, considering the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on its anti-trafficking capacity; therefore, Guyana remained on Tier 1.”
The Human Services and Social Security Ministry continues to encourage people to report all suspicious activities on hotline numbers (592) 227-4083 or (592) 623-5030.
Spanish-speaking persons can contact (592) 624-0079. (G1)