Taxi operator hit with child trafficking charges
Toriann Ellis / Our Today
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The Jamaica Constabulary Force’s Counter-Terrorism and Organised Crime Investigation Branch (C-TOC) has arrested and charged a taxi operator in connection with the trafficking of a 16-year-old girl.
Thirty-five-year-old Andre Catnott, from Longwall, Stony Hill, in St Andrew, has been charged.
Reports are that in November 2024, while working as a taxi driver for a ride-share company, Catnott met the teenager who had taken his taxi. He learned that she ran away from home and offered her employment as a model for his massage company.
It is alleged that the two exchanged contact information. When the teen accepted his offer, she was subsequently coerced into performing sexual acts for money with various clients in the Corporate Area, which Catnott collected.
In February 2025, a family member located the teen and reported the matter to the police, prompting an investigation. On September 17, 2025, C-TOC investigators conducted an operation at Catnott’s home, where he was taken into custody. He was formally charged on Monday, September 22, with child trafficking.
Investigations into Catnott’s operations are ongoing to apprehend those involved. He is scheduled to appear before the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court on Friday, September 26, 2025.
Acting Senior Superintendent of Police Victor Barrett of C-TOC commented on the arrest, emphasising the JCF’s efforts in protecting society’s most vulnerable individuals.
“The Jamaica Constabulary Force is working tirelessly to locate and arrest individuals who exploit children and prey on the most vulnerable in our country,” Barrett said. “Public support and information on these individuals are crucial to our investigations; they must be brought to justice,” he continues.
The public is urged to share information regarding persons involved in human trafficking and other organised crime by calling C-TOC at 876-967-1389, the National Intelligence Bureau at 811, Crime Stop at 311, or the nearest police station.
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