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~ Customs officer says she was arrested lawfully ~

PHILIPSBURG--Insel Air passenger Maria Isabel G.L., who claimed that she had been arrested wrongfully last week Tuesday and falsely linked to a robbery, had been attempting to board the flight with more than US $20,000 and not $5,000 as she told this newspaper on Friday.

Isabel could not be reached for comment on Sunday, as she had indicated earlier that her phone had been confiscated by authorities. Isabel shared her story to clear her name, saying that she had been arrested wrongfully in association with the Son Latino robbery.

Customs officer Franklyn Bernadina, who was involved in Isabel’s arrest, said she initially had told officers that she had nothing to declare, then indicated that she had $5,000 in her possession and then that she had more than $20,000, which had not been declared.

Bernadina said this amount was “way above” the minimum amount of $11,000 required by law to be declared to Customs. He said this was considered “a serious criminal offence” punishable under certain circumstances with a fine of up to NAf. 50,000 and imprisonment of up to four years.

“This is for failure to file a report, filing a report containing a material omission or misstatement, or filing a false or fraudulent report under articles 5 and 7 of the National Ordinance ‘Reporting of international transportation of currency or monetary instruments,’” he said.

Bernadina explained that because of the Son Latino robbery, all Insel Air passengers leaving for the Dominican Republic had been checked based on the assumption that the people involved in that robbery probably would leave the island and would try to leave with the stolen items. A warrant was obtained for the arrest of the suspected main culprit.

On questioning, Isabel told the controlling officer that she had nothing to declare. Bernadina said Customs Officers asked this question to give passengers the chance to declare items they might be carrying with them that the Customs Officer should know about before checking their luggage.

After the officer specifically asked Isabel whether she was travelling with currency in any denomination, she stated that she was travelling with $5,000. She proceeded to show the money in the form of a stack of bills held together with rubber bands.

Based on experience the officer suspected that this was probably more than the amount Isabel had mentioned. On further questioning she declared that she had saved the money by doing two “partner hands” of $400 each in the last year. She told the officer she was employed as a lottery ticket seller at Wining Circles, Bernadina said.

“When asked if her salary could cover two “partner hands” of US $400 each she did not give convincing answers. This raised suspicion that the money did not belong to Miss Maria Isabel G.L. and for this reason Miss Maria Isabel G.L. was asked to wait on the side while we finished checking the other passengers, in order not to delay the flight [further – Ed.],” the Customs Officer said.

The Assistant Prosecutor who had been informed by Customs that the main culprit would be on the flight going out to the Dominican Republic joined Customs at the airport.

“He was the one that gave the instruction to arrest all the passengers that were arrested that day,” Bernadina said. The Assistant Prosecutor is the person who judges whether an arrest is lawful or not.

Bernadina said that after her arrest, Isabel had asked the arresting officer what she could do to “help herself out of the situation,” as she was concerned about the consequences this could have for the extension of her legal residency on the island. The officer suggested she should start by speaking the truth. She then asked the officer to speak to him in private and the officer proceeded to speak to her in private.

She told the officer that she had not spoken the truth and that the total amount of money with which she was travelling was not $5,000, but a little more than $20,000, Bernadina said. She said her boss had requested that she take the money to the Dominican Republic.

As this is a serious criminal offence, Isabel was arrested on suspicion of being related/involved in the robbery mentioned and for failing to declare an amount of money exceeding $11,000, giving false information about the funds she was carrying and the origin thereof. Bernadina said Isabel’s arrest had been “totally lawful.”

She was released the following day because there were not enough reasons to connect her to the robbery. The Customs Officer said the money was still confiscated. The officer said that if Isabel had declared the funds before going to her gate, she would not have been arrested and would have been able to continue her journey without any issues.

The Customs Officer said Isabel’s claims that she had been arrested wrongfully could give the public the wrong perception that law enforcement officers arrest people wrongfully.

“While I don’t exclude this from ever happening, this story implies the young lady involved was indeed wrongfully arrested and also relates only one side of the story,” he said. “It’s important for the public to know and understand how the Justice system works and why law enforcement officers do what they do the way they do it.”