Illegal nationals of Nigeria and Ghana are fleeing Trinidad to South America and are using the Western peninsula to travel to the Venezuelan coastland.

Carenage is now said to be the point used in the “human trafficking” trade of illegal migrants between Trinidad and Venezuela.

Two weeks ago the Coast Guard spotted a pirogue anchored off the Five Islands, Chaguaramas. Coast Guard officers on checking found two Venezuelans in the boat who said they were awaiting to “pick up” two Nigerians who were coming in by boat from Carenage to take them to Venezuela.

During the interrogation of the Venezuelans, they said that a few days before they had taken two other Nigerians, who wanted to leave Trinidad because they were illegal.

The two Venezuelans were allowed to go back to their country since they had not committed any offence.

And earlier this week two nationals of Ghana, who were illegal in this country, were picked up by Immigration officers in the Carenage area and detained.

They are now at the Golden Grove Prison awaiting deportation.

It is believed that the illegal Ghanaians were also awaiting to be smuggled out of the country from Carenage.

Sources say illegal Nigerian and Ghanaian migrants are leaving for fear that when they are held they would suffer the same fate of some 15 illegal Nigerians who are languishing in prison for more than a year awaiting deportation.

The Nigerians have been appealing to the Government to send back to their homeland and recently went on a hunger strike to highlight their plight.

In June this year eight Nigerians, who were awaiting deportation were whisked away under tight security from the Maximum Security Prison at Golden Grove, Arouca, to Piarco International Airport and put on a flight to Caracas from where they would have travelled to Madrid, Spain and board a Nigerian Airways aircraft to Lagos.

But when they arrived in Caracas, they started shouting for asylum which caused the deportation exercise to be aborted and were brought back to Trinidad by a National Security aircraft.

They are still in jail awaiting a government decision to charter an aircraft to take them out of the country.

Sources at the Immigration Department say that there is a ring involved in smuggling nationals of Nigeria and Ghana to Trinidad, some of them are entering through Tobago. There is a house in Tacarigua where more than 15 Nigerians are staying.

TnT Mirror could no ascertain whether they are in the country illegal.

When they arrive here they end up getting jobs as security guards and construction workers.

Sources say there are scores of illegal Nigerians also working in Tobago and the House of Assembly is reportedly aware of this.