The Guyana Police Force has secured yet another human trafficking conviction. Tito Browne, also known as ‘Tommy’ and ‘Yankee,’ was found guilty of trafficking two Jamaican nationals and sentenced to two terms of four years imprisonment each.
The two four-year terms are to run concurrently.
Browne was also sentenced to one year imprisonment for withholding the passports of the victims, fined GYD$200,000, and ordered to pay GYD$6,300,000 restitution to the victims.
Browne was arrested on April 28, 2021, and charged with violating Section 3 (1)(a) and Section 4 of the Combating of Trafficking in Persons Act. The eight-month-long trial began in December 2021 and concluded in August 2022, with the two victims and several police officers testifying. The Police prosecutor, Assistant Superintendent of Police Mrs Pindar-Whittaker, prosecuted the case.
According to the prosecution’s facts, Browne promised the victims farming work in Kara Kara Creek, Guyana, for which he would pay them US$5000. Browne facilitated their travel expenses from Jamaica, but when they arrived in Guyana, he confiscated their passports and informed them they would spend six months at the campsite. Browne did not pay them for their work, and the victims could only contact their family on his phone when he visited. Browne visited periodically and demanded that they work more diligently, promising payment that he never delivered.
The victims were unable to travel from the campsite, and for the last three weeks, no one visited them, causing their supplies to run low. The victims were eventually forced to venture from the camp in search of other campsites, where they managed to locate a logger who took them to a village where they reported their situation to the police. An investigation was launched, leading to Browne’s arrest and prosecution.
Magistrate Wanda Fortune handed down the sentence at the Linden Magistrate’s Court. Browne’s conviction follows the recent conviction of wildlife trader Feezal Shaw, who was sentenced to three years imprisonment for human trafficking and ordered to pay $2,127,000 in restitution to the survivor.
