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 U.S. believes Beijing is behind conspiracy ANDREW MITROVICA and PAUL KORING
Toronto and Washington -- ANDREW
MITROVICA The U.S. Justice Department is expected to arrest three Canadians today for allegedly conspiring to smuggle thousands of migrants to North America, law-enforcement sources say. A five-month Justice Department probe, code named Project Squeeze Play, may also implicate key Chinese officials, including government personnel and a senior army general in China's Fujian province, the sources said. The Justice Department believes the investigation reveals that the lucrative human-smuggling trade from China to North America is sanctioned by the Beijing government, the sources said. "The Chinese officials are running the show," a source said. "It's just not about one corrupt general; the Chinese government is doing it." A U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service official confirmed that
senior representatives from the Justice Department and the INS in
Washington planned to hold a news conference in Detroit today. But when senior INS officials became aware that news of the arrests had leaked, they decided to cancel the news conference. Carol Jenifer, director of immigration in Michigan, confirmed there is an "ongoing investigation" but refused to confirm or deny any details outlined by The Globe and Mail. The three Canadians, two of whom are of South Korean descent, will be charged with smuggling, conspiracy to smuggle aliens into the United States and attempting to bribe U.S. officials, sources said. The Justice Department believes the three Canadians are key players in the illicit trade. The Canadians arranged for the migrants to be shipped to and from the United States and Canada through native reserves that straddle the border, sources said. "They [the Canadians] provide the muscle to do the leg work for the Chinese," a source said. One of the Canadians implicated by U.S. authorities in the operation has 45 female migrants "sitting in Winnipeg," but Canadian police are unaware of this, a source said. As part of Project Squeeze Play, U.S. authorities arranged for people to be smuggled out of China as a way of determining how the ring operated, a source said. Indeed, as part of the sting, Justice Department investigators have 380 valid Chinese passports in their possession with a street value of close to $1-million (U.S.). U.S. intelligence agencies estimate that 20,000 Chinese migrants attempt to enter the United States and Canada each year by boat. Four rusty boats carrying about 600 migrants arrived in British Columbia from Fujian province in southeast China in the summer. Most migrants quickly claimed refugee status. Of the 453 claims processed so far, only 11 have been accepted, and 360 have been turned down. Fifteen claims were withdrawn and 67 people abandoned the effort. About 80 of the newcomers have disappeared. Only 23 have been deported. The rest are either appealing decisions or waiting for the Chinese government to provide them with travel documents, a lengthy process that frustrates Canadian officials. Canadian immigration officials are bracing themselves to receive as many as 1,200 illegal migrants in British Columbia this summer. However, U.S. authorities hope that by breaking up a major smuggling operation they will reduce the number of arrivals from China, sources said. The possible U.S. indictment of a senior Chinese military officer comes just days after Immigration Minister Elinor Caplan received assurances from officials in Beijing that China would take steps to prevent the illegal traffic to Canada. She met with Chinese officials in Fujian to discuss the issue. In the House of Commons yesterday, she said the Chinese government is co-operating with Canadian authorities to repatriate illegal Chinese migrants now living in Canada. Most of the illegal immigrants end up working in New York in slave-like conditions in Chinese-owned businesses. Many of the women and girls are forced into prostitution in order to pay back the $50,000 fee they gave to Chinese criminal gangs, known as snakeheads, and Chinese government officials, who work together to arrange their passage. The Chinese general and as many as four other senior Chinese political and police officials may also be indicted in Washington by the U.S. Justice Department, possibly as early as today, for their role in migrant trade, sources added. There is no extradition treaty between China and the United States, so it is unlikely the officials will ever be brought before a U.S. judge. However, the Chinese general represents a major coup for U.S. authorities because he links Beijing directly to the smuggling. "He's the big fish," a source said. "Nobody leaves China by boat or plane without going through him." U.S. officials hope the indictments and arrests will prompt the Chinese government to stamp out the smuggling trade. Sources said the general operates out of Fuzhou, which is in Fujian Province in southeast China, the main point of embarkation for many of those who made the treacherous journey to North America this past summer. "The general was doing what they [Beijing] wanted him to do," a sources said. Once the snakeheads gather the prospective travellers, the general provides the necessary visas and passports for a $25,000 (U.S.) fee and makes the arrangements to get the people out of the country, sources said. The millions of dollars generated by providing the necessary travel documents are poured back into state-controlled companies and the army officers' pension plan, law enforcement sources said. U.S. believes Beijing is behind conspiracy By ANDREW MITROVICA and PAUL KORING - Wednesday, May 3, 2000 Support missile project or
else, Ottawa warned KEY
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cash, survey says
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