|
|
 |
Home - Help |
 |
| | | | | | |
| |||
By Allan Dowd
VANCOUVER (Reuters) - Canadian authorities played a cat and mouse game Wednesday with a fishing trawler believed to have crossed the Pacific Ocean packed with a cargo of illegal immigrants from Asia.
The still unidentified boat has entered Canadian territorial waters near the southern tip of the Queen Charlotte Islands in British Columbia, but officials declined to give its exact location or what their next step would be.
``There's concern around radios being monitored and about electronic communications, for obvious reasons, until we get up with the ship and have it under our control, we're not saying a lot,'' said Louis Reimer, spokeswoman for the Department of Citizenship and Immigration.
The vessel, whose identification markings have been painted over, is believed to be the second boat in less than a month with Asian immigrants on board attempting an illegal landing in Canada.
It was spotted in international waters by a Canadian Defense Forces aircraft on routine patrol Monday about 150 miles (240 km) from the Queen Charlottes.
The aircraft noticed the vessel lacked any fishing gear and appeared to be attempting to avoid detection. It had been expected to reach the Queen Charlottes late Tuesday but it took an erratic course in what may have been an attempt to elude further detection.
The ship is now being tracked by a Canadian Coast Guard cutter but has not communicated with officials. It was not known how many people were on board.
The rugged and largely unpopulated Queen Charlotte Islands are about 500 miles (800 km) northwest of Vancouver and not far from the southern tip of the Alaska Panhandle.
A dilapidated fishing vessel with 123 Chinese on board was discovered in an isolated bay on Vancouver Island in July, and authorities have expressed concern Canada is facing a smuggling problem similar to one already experienced by Australia and New Zealand.
The smuggling of people out of China, often from Fujian province, to the United States and other countries has become a major business for organized crime groups, which are believed to have charged the people who arrived in July up to $38,000 each to make the journey.
Eighty six of those who arrived in July have been released and are being
considered for refugee status. The rest are in custody because officials believe
they were part of the smuggling operation.
Earlier
Stories
| | | | | | |