Forty-five Haitians, including the 23 who arrived in Jamaica on February 15, were repatriated to their homeland yesterday.

According to a statement from the Ministry of National Security, the 39 men and six women departed onboard the HMJS Cagway early yesterday morning.

"They were accompanied by members of the Jamaica Defence Force, the Jamaica Constabulary Force, immigration officers, and an interpreter," the ministry said.

The 23 members of the group who arrived in Jamaica on February 15 had landed off the coast of Portland in the morning. The 19 males and four females, whose ages ranged from 17 to 44, had claimed they were sailing to the Bahamas, but went off course and ended up in Jamaica.

Previously deported

Investigations later revealed that the captain of the boat had been deported from Jamaica on three previous occasions.

The other 22 Haitians had been picked up over the past few months for immigration breaches, and were awaiting deportation.

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of National Security, Gil Scott, stressed that the repatriation exercise had been carried out in accordance with established procedure, where persons who arrive in Jamaica illegally are sent back to their country of origin.

He emphasised that yesterday's exercise was not an extraordinary process, and pointed to four persons who had been deported since the start of the year after they arrived in Jamaica illegally.