FREEPORT| On Sunday, February 23, immigration officers apprehended 24-year-old Jamaican national Taval Kani Noble at an Airbnb in Mack Town, Grand Bahama. He was found working as an orthodontist without a Work Permit.
The following day, February 24th, Police brought Noble before the Freeport Magistrates Court #1, where Senior Deputy Acting Chief Magistrate Charlton Smith charged him with two offenses:
1. Working without a business license.
2. Practicing dentistry.
Noble pleaded guilty to both charges. For the first count, he was ordered to pay a fine of $1,000 or serve three months in BDOCS. For the second count, he was cautioned and discharged, and instructed to return $400 to the Department of Immigration.
On Wednesday, February 26, 2024, Noble appeared in the EMR Magistrates Court before Magistrate Simone Brown, facing charges of being employed as an orthodontist without first obtaining a work permit from the Director of Immigration, as stipulated by Section 30 of the Immigration Act.
Noble again pleaded guilty. He was fined $500, with an alternative sentence of three months at BDOCS. Upon payment of the fines or completion of his custodial sentence, Noble will be handed over to the Immigration Department, which will initiate his deportation to Jamaica.
