Alleged Sun Sea smuggler arrested
Thai authorities said they have arrested a man who they say is a
human smuggler linked to the sailing of the MV Sun Sea, the rickety boat
that transported 492 Tamil migrants to British Columbia last year.
Thailand's immigration police arrested Nadesan Jeeyananthan, 48, and
seven other people accused of involvement in a human-smuggling ring
during a series of raids last Sunday, The Globe and Mail reported.
The arrest marks the first claim of headway by police in the
investigation into the human-smuggling operation that raised fears that
former Tiger militants were among the migrants seeking a new home in
Canada.
The Harper government responded with a promise to crack down on human
smuggling.
Jeeyananthan is believed to have been involved in the Sun Sea
operation, but is not the mastermind behind it, according to Canadian
officials who spoke to The Globe and Mail on condition they not be
named.
The officials said he is alleged to have been behind a major-human
smuggling operation that has tried to send migrants to Canada in other
ships.
Another ship, the Ocean Lady, brought 79 Tamils to Canada in October,
2009. Thailand, a country that is relatively easy to enter, has become a
transit point for migrant-smuggling operations to Australia, Canada, and
elsewhere. Since the Sun Sea, Canada has sent police and intelligence
officers to assist Thai authorities in investigations.
Sources said a half-dozen RCMP officers and one intelligence officer
are now in Thailand, but Canadian officials would not say what role, if
any, they had in the arrests.
All 492 Tamil migrants were detained under immigration laws last
August, but 309 have since been ordered released - though some remain in
custody as the federal government fights to keep them in detention.
Early this week, the Canadian media reported that intelligence
sources have warned that two more ships may be launched from Asian ports
carrying as many as 50 former LTTE leaders and cadres headed for
Canada's west coast.
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