Police say the passports discovered in a boat drifting in Grenada’s northeast Atlantic marine space nearly three weeks ago belonged to people from the Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d’Ivoire, a country on West Africa’s southern coast.
Two fishermen discovered the empty boat. It contained several personal items, including shoes, clothing, and two passports.
“We have now officially informed the relevant agencies and authorities, so I can now disclose that the passports were from Ivory Coast,” Assistant Superintendent of Police Simon Douglas said.
He stated that the police were not at liberty to reveal the identities of the passport holders because the case was still under investigation.
A boat carrying seven dead bodies was discovered drifting off the northern coast of Grenada in December 2021. Police noted at the time that early digital forensic analyses found on the boat led them to think that the incident was related to human trafficking or human smuggling.
The police have yet to provide an official update on the investigation into the seven bodies, two of which were thought to be teens.
According to the 2022 Trafficking in Person report, the Ivorian government identified 1,190 trafficking victims, up from 302 identified the previous year.
The majority of the victims were children.
Côte d’Ivoire is classified as a Tier 2 country by the US Department of State, which means it “does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so” as defined by the Trafficking Victims Protection Act.
