Madhatter, if you look up the word radar you will find that it will detect objects made from metal and will not detect wooden boats effectively.

the defence force have these big boat.................................................
To catch the illegals afloat .............................................
But they can't seem to keep..................................................................
From falling asleep..................................................................................
While they land on a beach not remote................................................

Like I said before, this sloop was probably already almost empty when it drifted into the defense force area. So most of the illegals probably got off further East . Yamacraw, South Beach in those areas. They probably communicated by cell phones and had cars come pick them up. Another option is this was a drug boat. Did the Defense Force check for drug residue before setting the boat on firs?

John, the wind has been from out of the north for several days now. The beach there faces south.

Why would they destroy an apparently sea-worthy craft? Surely the sale of the vessel would provide some revenue for instructors to teach our RBDF how to surveil and apprehend?

> This operation - and the entire stop and search operation - last night brought fierce criticism from human rights activist Frederick Smith QC.

QC Smith loves illegal immigrants and being in the limelight more so than he does the Bahamas and the Bahamian people.

Reality cheek, how do you know so much about Fred Smith? Have you ever even met the man and talked with him>

I have met QC Smith on several occasions, the last time being shortly after the passing of the late Colin Callender, Q.C.

**HOW IS IT POSSIBLE NOT TO HAVE APPREHENDED AT LEAST ONE OF THE MANY ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS THAT WERE ON THAT SLOOP???!!!!** This is just beyond any kind of comprehension!! Small wonder we, the Bahamian people, no longer have any faith whatsoever in the ability of either the RBPF or RBDF to keep us safe and secure in our own country today. Using a drone at night, equipped with an infrared live video feed, I could find 100 illegal aliens hiding away in their favorite places in the bushes in less than a few hours! This is a bloody damn small island!!!!

Unless.... the story is not true. Not one single picture of the so-called sloop and no one caught. How do we know this is not a FAKE story so that they can start their raids earlier than the December 31st deadline... now there's a thought!

There was a photo of the sloop in yesterday's edition of The Tribune. Besides, I would like to think that Minnis himself and those reporting to him on this most embarrassing matter were not duped by fake news!

I know. I'm just being facetious.

80 square miles area with thirty percent canals, swamp,lakes. Other parts commercial like downtown.
Mabye the sloop landed outside the Mud and Pea in Abaco and drifted and mabye the officers should be looking in Abaco also.

What is so amazing is that the RBDF can find and intercept the go fast drug and human smuggling boats, but the ones moving in a snail pace creeps into their back yard undetected. Shame on them.

This is not amazing the US coastguards track these boats and tell the RBUDF where to intercept them.

they are looking in the wrong places. they put these illegals in nice condominiums actually, where no one is going to look, tru, they raid shanty towns where they apprehend some of those with work permits who do not keep the permit on their person.

It is hard to applause such comparatively small successes when they avoid going after or even discussing the root of the problem. Yes, they flap their gums about not hiring illegal immigrants, but broke Bahamians hiring a Haitian every other month is not what brings them in or sustains them.

Not saying to ease up on the Haitians but it would be good to see Immigration posted up at the Gates of Lyford Cay and Old Fort Bay and in the Abaco and see what is the real Immigration problem in this country. A lot of them who goosey the Immigration against the Haitians them and the same set involved in High grade human smuggling. Engineers and accountants and even doctors. Prove me wrong

I thought it was a haitian cruise ship with immigration exempt passengers!

Another classic example why Haitians are endemic enemies of the state! The greater majority if not all of regularized Haitians and Bahamians of Haitian descent know the full details of illegal Haitian migration and who is involved in both countries.

We are rushing forward calling ourselves being "humane" by giving Haitians legal status in our country while no Haitian have EVER stepped forward to assist the government with information leading to arresting this vexing illegal Haitian migrant crises.

What the hell are we doing? Haitians loyalty is unquestionable to Haitians, not the Bahamas regardless of gaining status in the Bahamas!

Haitians have been riding Bahamians like donkeys for decades. It is the time for us to follow the Dominican Republic and U.S. lead and put an end to this stupidity.

We need to get rid of Brent Symonett and the damn Haitians before they accomplish their goal of destroying Bahamians.

Black bearded Bahamian the direction of the wind is not constant even over a 24 hour period. And even so the tide can by flowing in a different direction from the wind

The amount of time, energy and resources being spent to round up illegals is outrageous and disruptive to business and our Bahamian daily life.
Employees are arriving to work late because of the above, and it is so inconvenient to those of us who are law abiding and trying to live our humble and honest daily lives!
Is this REALLY necessary Mr. Symonette?
I don’t believe that one of those migrants on that sloop set foot on N P.

Interesting view ........ It is disconcerting that a Haitian wooden sloop can end up undetected on Adelaide Beach after passing through almost 500 miles of Bahamian waters .......... HMMMMMMMMMM

Law abiding citizens don't whine about being inconvenienced when there is a search for 200 nameless, faceless individuals with no verifiable background on the run. In this instance we can only hope they are harmless illegals as opposed to terrorists. We don't know, and immigration and the RBDF should leave no stone unturned.

Ditto. Thanks for pointing out what should have been obvious to any true nationalist. Any inconvenience is worthwhile suffering for the best interest of the country and people.

And we wonder why we have a problem with unlicensed guns and ammunition getting into this country? This incident demonstrates how porous our borders are and how defective our border defences are. The Prime Minister says he wants a report. He should not have to request reports of exceptional or unusual matters from each Ministry as and when they occur but should be getting regular reports on the goings-on at each Ministry from his Ministers. He needs to watch the Prime Minister's Questions on C-SPAN where the UK's Prime Minister is able to answer parliamentary questions regarding the affairs of any government Ministry or agency. We could be invaded by a bunch of terrorists using wooden boats that cannot be detected by radar coming up on the south side of New Providence and we have no constitutional right to search for them, maybe unless we declare a state of emergency. What a country!