Foreign Affairs Minister Kamina Johnson Smith says a search done on a Trinidadian minister last week at the Norman Manley International Airport, was not conducted by Jamaican immigration or customs officials.

This after reports emerged that Ayanna Webster-Roy, Minister within the Office of the Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago was searched, immediately prior to boarding an international flight last Friday.

The Trinidadian media has reported that Webster Roy wants an apology from the Jamaican government.

In a statement Mrs. Johnson smith says initial enquiries indicate that a search took place, but that it was conducted by a private security company retained by the international airline on which the minister and her delegation were travelling.

Mrs. Johnson smith says, she was advised such searches are generally undertaken by the airline, under international conventions and are based on random computer selection for additional security screening.

She says while the government regrets the minister’s distress,  enquiries so far have revealed that diplomats and ministers of other countries, as well as current and former ministers of Jamaica, across political administrations, have in fact undergone this additional screening process, notwithstanding their status.

She says, the Jamaican government is however taking the matter seriously.

She says while her ministry awaits a promised formal letter from her counterpart in Trinidad and Tobago, the ministry is making further enquiries regarding the legal framework supporting such searches, as well as the specific circumstances of Friday’s incident.

Mrs. Johnson Smith says, government wants all visitors to Jamaica, including colleague dignitaries from foreign and Caricom countries, to be comfortable in their travel to and from the island.

She says the search was in no way related to the issue of free movement under the Caribbean Single Market and Economy, nor was it related to the minister’s nationality.