WORLD NATIONAL SPORTS BUSINESS ENTERTAINMENT
Boatful of immigrants stopped by coast guard
TAHSIS, B.C. (CP) - About 100 Asians were
discovered crammed into the hold of a cargo vessel Tuesday in what
authorities described as a human smuggling operation.
The 55-metre vessel was stopped by coast guard
officials near Tahsis on the west coast of Vancouver Island about
300 kilometres northwest of Victoria. "Nothing of this magnitude has
happened before on the West Coast in terms of smuggling," said
George Varnai, regional manager with Citizenship and Immigration.
Jim Redmond, one of Varnai's colleagues, said the
situation is typical of a human smuggling operation.
Redmond said if that's true, "this is not a humanitarian
movement, this is almost a slavery movement.
"It's hard on the people who are smuggled. It's organized crime
at its worst."
Varnai said authorities from several agencies - the coast guard,
RCMP, Health Canada, Citizenship and National Defence - were on the
scene.
There are 70 men and 20 women on board. There are no children.
The ship was spotted early Tuesday by a Department of Fisheries
and Oceans patrol plane.
"It met a certain profile," Varnai said. "The vessel had no
markings, no flag, no name and no normally available
identification."
Redmond said organized crime is certainly involved in the
smuggling operation and there are likely criminals included in the
people aboard the ship.
"We don't know what kind of criminal element is on board but we
do know it's not necessarily good for the country because if it was,
they would apply through the legal channels."
The vessel will be escorted to land and the passengers will be
taken into custody and transported to a military base, possibly at
CFB Comox, in the central part of Vancouver Island, or CFB
Esquimalt, near Victoria, Varnai said.
If passengers don't have the proper documentation, an immigration
inquiry will be conducted, leading to possible deportation.
Decisions about where and when the ship will dock or where the
passengers will be taken have not been made, Varnai said.
Officials also don't know exactly where the passengers come from.
Interpreters who speak several Asian languages have been sent to the
scene.
Authorities are also worried about the welfare of the people
aboard the boat.
"What we were told by the coast guard early this morning is that
the ship appears to have been on a long voyage and the people are
certainly tired, but the initial feeling was that there was no
medical emergency on board," Varnai said.
The area where the ship was discovered is characterized by
sheltered, tree-lined inlets and mountainous, rugged coastline. The
Pacific waters are particularly cold there.
There are a few native settlements in the area, but the
population is sparse. Getting around is done mostly on logging roads
or by boat or airplane.
Air Nootka pilot Eric Scott, 27, flew over the vessel several
times and described the ship as "bluey-grey in colour, unmarked and
pretty ugly.
"The first time I flew over there was still smoke coming out of
the stack, but it was anchored. There is not one marking on the
boat. It's pretty decrepit-looking."
Scott said a coast guard vessel was tied to the side of the boat
and several RCMP and coast guard zodiacs were doing loops around the
ship.
He said while listening to marine radio, he overheard that
someone on the boat has asked for food for those on board.
Varnai said it's unclear where the vessel originated but it's
likely it came from southeast Asia.
It's also difficult to know whether the immigrants were headed to
the United States or Canada.
© The Canadian Press, 1999
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