The lives of 17 Jamaican children in the United States may today be in danger after they were adopted and shipped off to that country by a woman the local police believe may be part of a major human trafficking ring operating between both countries. Local police, with the help of US law enforcement officials, are currently trying to track down the children, aged between five and 16. Detectives believe that more than the 17 children could well have been victims of the illicit trade. The human trafficking scheme was uncovered last week after the woman — a 53-year-old resident of Pleasant District in Bog Walk, St Catherine — was arrested by the Flying Squad at the United States Embassy in Kingston where she had presented forged documents in an effort to secure a US visa for a 16-year-old girl whom she had recently adopted. Detectives believe that the woman had been operating the scheme for about two years before she was arrested. According to the source, the accused, when cautioned, told the police that she was being paid J$60,000 for each child she sent to the United States. So far, she has been charged with forging adoption papers. However, the woman could be slapped with human trafficking charges as detectives deepen that aspect of their investigation.

http://www.stabroeknews.com/2011/news/regional/12/18/suspected-jamaican-human-trafficker-nabbed-at-us-embassy-in-kingston-2/