RCMP reportedly set to charge suspected migrant smugglers

(Stewart Bell, National Post · Monday, Dec. 13, 2010)

The RCMP is preparing to lay charges against several alleged migrant smugglers who helped bring 76 Sri Lankans to the British Columbia coast last fall, according to two sources briefed on the investigation.The sources said the pending criminal charges concern suspected organizers of the voyage of the Ocean Lady, which was intercepted in Canadian waters on Oct. 17, 2009, after crossing from Malaysia.“Until charges come out, we don’t talk about things like that,” Constable Michael McLaughlin, an RCMP spokesman in B.C., said on Monday. He denied charges were close. “Charges are not imminent.”

But one source said that during a recent briefing a senior RCMP officer said the case had already been sent to Crown prosecutors, who reviewed it and sent it back to police for follow-up work. Another source said charges were expected sometime around Christmas.
The charges would be the first to result from intensive Canadian police investigations that are probing the smugglers suspected of ferrying 568 Sri Lankan migrants across the Pacific aboard two frail cargo ships.

In addition to the Ocean Lady, the RCMP has been investigating those suspected of playing a role in the voyage of the Sun Sea, which arrived off Vancouver Island on Aug. 12 after carrying 492 Sri Lankans from Thailand.

A Thai official told the National Post that Thailand had arrested a Canadian citizen, who was then “handed over” to Canadian authorities. The official did not want to be named and said the case was considered classified and active.

An RCMP spokesman declined to confirm whether the Toronto-area, Sri Lankan-born businessman named by the Thais was a suspect in the Sun Sea investigation.
“Only in the event that an investigation results in the laying of criminal charges would the RCMP confirm the nature of the charges laid and the identity of the individual(s) involved,” said RCMP spokesman Sgt. Marc LaPorte.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s special envoy on human smuggling hinted two weeks ago that arrests could be coming. “I think there are likely to be some arrests in Canada, but … that would be a responsibility of the RCMP and prosecutors in any case,” Ward Elcock told the CBC. “But I wouldn’t be surprised if there were some arrests in the not-so-distant future.”
The Cambodian-flagged Ocean Lady was used to smuggle cocaine, explosives and weapons before it was seized off the West Coast just over a year ago. It was owned by Ray Ocean Transport and operated by Sunship Maritime Services, according to shipping records. Both companies appear to exist only on paper.

In October, Immigration Minister Jason Kenney and Public Safety Minister Vic Toews stood aboard the Ocean Lady to announce new legislation they said would make it easier to prosecute human smugglers, impose mandatory prison sentences on them and hold ship owners and operators responsible.

Opposition parties said recently they would not support the bill because it would treat migrants who arrive in Canada as a result of human smuggling differently than other prospective refugees. The Canadian Tamil Congress has asked the Conservatives to withdraw the legislation.
Under the existing Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, it is illegal to knowingly “organize, induce, aid or abet” the entry of a person who does not have the required visa or passport. The sentence is up to 10 years. Anyone convicted of smuggling a group of 10 or more migrants can be sentenced to life and fined $1-million.

 
But the Conservatives argued the new law is needed to disrupt the business model of human smuggling rings, which rely on migrants willing to pay hefty sums to establish themselves in Canada in order to sponsor their families. The proposed law would ban anyone who arrived in Canada through human smuggling from sponsoring family members for five years.
“Canadians expect this Parliament to take strong action to stop people from jumping the immigration queue and abusing this country’s generosity,” Mr. Kenney said during Question Period on Monday.

According to Canadian officials, four Southeast Asian smuggling operations are involved. They are considered criminal networks but have long-established links with the Tamil Tigers rebel network, which helps find prospective passengers for the ships.
Mr. Toews has said the Sun Sea migrants were charged $40,000 to $50,000 for passage to Canada. Officials said many put down a deposit of around $5,000 and were to pay the balance upon their arrival, raising concerns they could be forced into organized crime such as credit card fraud to get out of debt.

Following the arrival of the Sun Sea, Mr. Harper assigned Mr. Elcock, a former Canadian Security Intelligence Service Director, to work with Southeast Asian countries to disrupt smuggling ships at their points of origin. Two ships have so far been stopped in Thailand as a result of intelligence provided by Canada, officials said.
Sri Lanka has long been one of Canada’s top sources of refugees. During the civil war that raged on the island for more than 25 years, hundreds of thousands of minority ethnic Tamils fled the country. The conflict ended in May, 2009, when Sri Lankan government forces defeated the Tamil Tigers and killed their top leaders.