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By Allan Dowd
VANCOUVER (Reuters) - Canadian authorities were keeping a close eye on the Pacific Ocean Friday for more ships smuggling humans from Asia as they prepared to process the second group of boat people to arrive in under a month.
Immigration and military authorities acknowledge they expect other ships to attempt the illegal ocean crossing this summer, but denied reports that they have located a third vessel headed to Canada from Asia.
``I know about the reports ... (but) we're not tracking any vessel. It's that simple,'' George Varnai, regional director of Citizenship and Immigration Canada in Vancouver told Reuters.
Authorities set up a temporary facility at a military base near Victoria to house and feed a group of about 130 Chinese, including children as young as four, who were dumped into rough waters off an isolated island Wednesday.
Canadian authorities have said they expect additional boat people to arrive this summer from China. The arrivals have sparked debate over the country's immigration laws, which critics claim encourage smuggling because they are too lax.
A group of 123 Chinese arrived in July from China's Fujian province and are seeking refugee status. The group that arrived Wednesday is also expected to seek entrance as refugees.
The newest arrivals were transported from their landing site on the isolated Queen Charlotte Islands to a military base near Victoria. A crowd of about 100 people, including some with protest signs, were on hand when they were unloaded from a Coast Guard ship.
Eight crew members from the boat that arrived Wednesday have been arrested and face charges both for human smuggling and for the way their passengers were made to disembark.
The crew and boat, a converted fishing trawler, are both believed to be from South Korea. The Korean government would also likely charge the eight with smuggling if they are returned home, an official told the Vancouver Sun.
Authorities think most of the boats in the smuggling trade are operated by Asian organized crime gangs, who sometimes charge immigrants more than $40,000 for the journey.
U.S. officials Friday were also investigating a ship with suspected Chinese
immigrants that was discovered and detained Thursday in the Atlantic Ocean off
the coast of Georgia.
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