Yahneake Sterling, Staff Reporter
THE ALLEGED strip search of a 15-year- old student by authori-
ties at the Norman Manley International Airport (NMIA) has left a mother crying
for justice.
Juliet Miller, the mother of the 15-year-old, claimed that last Tuesday, her daughter was searched by personnel from the Contraband Enforcement Team (CET) without her being present. She said she will be taking legal action.
The CET is an arm of the Customs Department which is charged with apprehending illegal goods and drugs from entering or leaving the country. Under the Customs Act, CET officers have the powers of search (Section 57) and arrest (Section 3).
The distraught mother said that her child was scheduled to depart from the airport at 12:05 p.m. on an Air Jamaica flight to Fort Lauderdale. She said that at about at 12:15 when she contacted her daughter, the teenager had not boarded the aircraft.
X-RAY EXAMINATION
According to Ms. Miller, her daughter was ordered to exit the boarding line and her luggage was searched. The 'officer' she said, demanded that the 15-year-old accompany her to a room where she proceeded to order her to remove her clothing then conducted an x-ray examination.
"The insensitive officer was laughing the entire time when my daughter was crying," she lamented. "This should have never been done to a minor and I will be taking legal action for this," she said.
Contacted by The Gleaner, CET officials referred the
newspaper to the office of the commissioner of police.
NO SEARCH WAS CONDUCTED
Senior Superintendent Rosie McDonald-Barker at the Opera-tions Branch of the Constabu-lary Force, confirmed that a
letter had been sent to the commissioner's office by Ms. Miller. She said, however, "I contacted the Narcotics Department at the airport and based on what the senior officer told me, no search was conducted by the police from the
narcotics branch."
She added that investigations are ongoing. Regarding the accusation that members of the CET conducted the search, she said, "Well you would have to call that section there."
Up to press time yesterday , despite several calls to that office, The Gleaner was not able to get a comment from the Contraband Enforcement Team.
