The Workforce Opportunity and Residency Cayman department added $455,255 into government’s coffers as it registered a 16% bump in fines at the end of 2023 through its increased compliance and enforcement efforts.
Border Control Minister Dwayne Seymour released the figures on Tuesday as he tabled the Ministry of Border Control and Labour’s annual report in Parliament.
The WORC investigative compliance team conducted a total of 537 investigations, which resulted in the increased fines when compared to the previous year.
“WORC law enforcement officers participated in 17 joint operations with other law enforcement agencies, highlighting their commitment to social justice and fair opportunities for Caymanians,” he added.
Seymour said the auditor general issued an unqualified or “clean” audit opinion on the financial statements for the ministry for 2023 and at the end of the year, the annual revenue for the 2023 fiscal year stood at $242 million across the ministry.
CBC made almost 100 arrests
The minister, speaking to efforts from the Customs and Border Control agency during the 2023 fiscal year, said the CBC team processed over 1.3 million persons arriving via air and 2.5 million cruise passengers last year.
The department also processed 261,300 import declarations in 2023.
“A continued focus on bolstering national security while maintaining the integrity of our air and sea ports allowed for the interception of illicit drugs, firearms and ammunition, resulting in almost 100 arrests and the processing of 82 migrants,” he added.
Among those arrests last year was that of supermodel and social media influencer Gigi Hadid and her friend Leah Nicole McCarthy.
They were both arrested for the importation of marijuana and importation of utensils used for the consumption of marijuana on 10 July 2023.
Hadid and McCarthy both pleaded guilty pleas and were fined $1,000 on each charge.
No conviction was recorded against them.
They arrived here on a private aircraft from the United States and were arrested following a search of their luggage, where 25.39 grams of ganja was found.
CBC Director Charles Clifford stated in the report that officers also intercepted 62 drug shipments, 10 illegal firearms and 610 rounds of ammunition last year, as well as arrested 87 suspects.
“By any measure, those statistics are indicative of a commendable performance, and I offer my sincere thanks to the dedicated and hard-working staff of CBC,” Clifford said.
He added that CBC also received and processed 82 migrants in 2023.
Seymour said government will continue to modernise Customs and Border Control legislation.
“This includes provisions for increased and additional administrative fines, ensuring our brave CBC officers are well-equipped and empowered to protect our borders, collect tariff revenue, and deliver improved customer service,” he said.
In 2023, CBC investigations yielded $74,488.29 in fines in Summary Court, the report said.
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