smuggling - Haiti Observer Blog

The government of Haiti (GOH) has allocated funding to General Administration of Customs (AGD) for recruitment of patrol agents. The first class of 125 graduated in June 2013. The graduation ceremony was held at Royal Oasis Hotel with Prime Minister Lamothe; Economy and Finance Minister Laleau, and AGD Director Jean-Baptiste present. Lamothe encouraged the graduates to represent GOH with ". . . patriotism and professionalism" as they carry out their duties.

GOH recognizes they must provide support to the AGD to defeat smuggling and bring in more customs revenue. Lamothe said the patrol agents are to serve two purposes: one, protect the borders from smuggling activities, and, two, reassert the sovereignty of GOH.

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Mont Organise, part of the Ouanaminthe Arrondissement, under the Nord Est Department, lies very close to the Dominican Republic border in the north-east area of Haiti. Two sub-divisions comprise it, Wood Lice and Savanette.

Mont Organise's economy relies on trade activities conducted with the Dominican Republic (DR), whose borders are nearby. Not all trade is legal between the two countries. Smuggling operations exist, and both governments look the other way. Conflict between Haiti and the DR has had an intermittent history, but in some areas they show tolerance. One of them is the smuggling trade.

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There was a case of smuggling in Cite Soleil that will soon be coming to a head. In a country as desperately poor as Haiti, contraband or the transportation of illegal goods, also known as smuggling, constitutes a major portion of crimes committed in Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince. Recently, a crack-down on the crime of smuggling has been initiated at the Institutional Committee, in the office of Prime Minister-Elect Laurent Lamothe.

The genesis of the crack-down began when Director General Fresnel Jean-Baptiste of the General Administration of Customs (AGD) sent his agents to lock-down a warehouse in Cite Soleil, whose contents held a wealth of smuggled merchandise from outside the country that had snuck through Port-au-Prince customs. Among the items discovered were 74 bags of frozen peas, 1,500 bags of milled corn, 250 cases of Mazola oil, and 495 gallons of Alberto oil.

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Prime Minister of Haiti Laurent Lamothe has set his sights on corruption, fraud, and smuggling in the country. He announced his determination and commitment to battling these crimes at a meeting with representatives of the Economic of Private Sector of Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The attendees of the meeting discussed measures aimed at fighting corruption in the government and other sectors, as well as tax fraud and smuggling incidents occurring along the border of Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

Lamothe called for a public-private partnership among the business people in order to crackdown on Corruption, Tax Fraud and Smuggling. The Haitian Prime Minister said the partnership can create a new policy aimed at making a much-needed change. Laurent Lamothe believes that putting an end to such crimes can lead to higher government revenues. And higher revenues mean better resources for the government to use in development efforts.

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Smuggling is a punishable crime of transporting goods, and even individuals, illegally or without lawful means. This has been a growing global problem for countries that rely on the import and export exchange market. Smugglers cheat their way in without paying the proper taxes and their illegal merchandise such as drugs, firearms, and other contrabands.

The Caribbean is known for its growing smuggling problem because of the easy back-and-forth transportation between islands which lack sufficient security and checkpoints, most especially to Florida. In Haiti, smuggling has been quite rampant with discovered contrabands such as cocaine and guns that were easily entered to the country.

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Prime Minister (PM) Lamothe is cracking down on illegal contraband smuggled on the Haitian-Dominican border. His primary objective is to replenish the government coffers that have been drained by untaxed goods by-passing inspections.

Laurent Lamothe met with officials of the Economic Forum of Private Sector Affairs at the end of June, to discuss strategies for monitoring the Haitian-Dominican border. Besides the problem of contraband, Lamothe also addressed peripheral issues that obstruct the efficiency and efficacy of government services.

The purpose of gathering together the EFPSA was to join forces and alert the public that smuggling and tax fraud, among other crimes, will not be tolerated and will incur heavy penalties, including jail time, depending on the severity of the crime.

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