Ship jammed with illegal
immigrants set sail from China
WebPosted
Wed Jul 21 21:45:02 1999
GOLD RIVER, B.C. - Canadian authorities say
they have identified 11 passsengers they believe may be behind one
of the biggest human smuggling operations ever discovered off the
West Coast.
"We're keeping them
as separate from the others as possible," said Jim Redmond, a
spokesman for the department of Citizenship and Immigration.
On Tuesday, a boat jammed with 122 Chinese trying to sneak into
Canada was found off the coast of Vancouver Island.
The 104 men and 18 women spent 39 days at sea crammed into the
filthy hold of a 36-metre ship. They are now being held at Canadian
Forces Base Esquimalt, just outside Victoria.
When they arrived at the base some of the people had changed into
their best clothes. They clapped and waved as they were led away.
But not one of the Chinese has any documentation. Officials say it
is an old trick for people trying to enter the country illegally.
So far Canadian officials say they do not know who organized this
smuggling operation, but it has all the hallmarks of organized
crime. And little by little, some of the details are emerging.
"The ship left ... from Fuzhou (China)," said George Varnai,
regional director for the department of Citizenship and Immigration.
"Our current assumption is they were trying to unload somewhere on
the coast."
The area where the ship, which had no identifiable markings, was
found is one of the remoter areas of coastline on Vancouver Island,
about 300 kilometres northwest of Victoria.
Language problems are hampering efforts of investigators to
question the passengers. Authorities have quickly turned an area of
CFB Esquimalt into a temporary shelter. Cots have been moved into a
large gymnasium. A two-metre high fence has also been erected.
No major illnesses or injuries were reported among the
passengers.
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