New crackdown on strip clubs: “We will fight until the bars are closed down”

Minister of Public Security, Khemraj Ramjattan, said Saturday that Friday’s raid at the Diamond Bar and Hotel in Georgetown is part of a wider ongoing plan to crackdown on suspected strip clubs and their associated illegal activities of human trafficking and prostitution. The minister told Kaieteur News that the next move is to secure the cooperation of the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) to revoke the liquor licences for establishments found to be involved in the illegal activities. Multiple agencies, including several armed police officers descended on the Diamond premises at George Street, Georgetown with a 30-seater bus along with several other vehicles. Investigators took 48 persons into custody, including 41 foreigners. Most of those arrested were women. “We intend to go after those who we suspect to be trafficking in humans for sexual and labour exploitation. We have been getting information that individuals, like the owner of Diamond, have been involved and of course this information has come from the Police Force,” Minister Ramjattan stated. He also noted that the crackdown is in keeping with the Ministerial Task Force on Trafficking in Persons (TIP) action plan which is to conduct various interdiction exercises. Minister Ramjattan said that the government is strong in its resolve to tackle the issues surrounding the strip clubs by demonstrating a willingness to go after the liquor licences issued to the bars by the GRA. In some cases, the bars are being used as a cover for the women to solicit sex.

“Not only must we go to the criminal law section in the Trafficking in Person Act, but we must do a wider range of penalties like asking GRA to seize the liquor licences of the clubs. We can’t make these activities profitable because then is when you get more and more trafficking happening. “We are not going to allow it. We have zero tolerance for trafficking in persons, sexual and labour exploitation of young girls from across our South American and Caribbean Territories,” Minister Ramjattan stated. The minister continued, “We are going to give it a big fight and if the fight extends to closing down bars like the Diamond Bar then we will be asking the GRA to do that because I am certain that there is some condition or term of the license that they have been breaching when they are going to allow their bar to have 41 young girls which are going to indulge in all sort of activities that are criminal.” Minister Ramjattan stated that based on the information he has received from the investigators, there was active surveillance carried out on the Diamond Hotel and Bar which revealed the presence of many girls from across the Caribbean and Venezuela. The minister assured that law enforcement officials will have more profound surveillance activities done in 2018 because Guyana wants to maintain its Tier 1 rating on the United States Department of State’s Annual Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report.