Police say no credible claim to human trafficking rumour

The Anti-Trafficking In Persons Unit (ATIPU) of the Royal St Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force says there is no credible claim to a rumour being circulated on social media that a male using motor vehicle HB 3470 is engaging in human trafficking.

“The preliminary investigation shows that the bulletin being circulated over the past 24 hours was not issued by any department or unit of the Royal St Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force. At this time the Police do not know the origin of the information,” a release from the Police Public Relations Department said.

The message in question was accompanied by a photograph and said, “HB 3470 is doing human trafficking!!! He has a gun in his car… please be careful and look out for the number plate. Pass this around and save a life!”

When contacted, the Traffic Department stated that the vehicle’s registration number ‘HB 3470’ does not exist in its database, neither does the identity of the person in the photo, which was posted.

“Also, in this case, the means of human trafficking is not known,” the release said.

Against this backdrop, the ATIPU continues its investigation into the matter.

“The Police understand the public concern, but we are appealing to persons to desist from spreading inaccurate information that can cause alarm.”