"Interesting" that the MSM hasn't written much about this ~~~ American dream, cost $35,000, busted
CHIDANAND RAJGHATTA
[ Friday, April 14, 2006 10:51:55 pmTIMES NEWS NETWORK ]
timesofindia.indiatimes.com
WASHINGTON: Trust Indians and Pakistanis to demonstrate friendship across borders. Not just acrossthe line drawn by Cyril Radcliffe but even as far as the International Boundary, the famed soft border between the United States and Canada.
But this is one friendship that the US is not thrilled about. US and Canadian authorities on Wednesday busted a human trafficking ring involving Indians and Pakistanis who are alleged to have smuggled dozens of illegal immigrants from the sub-continent into the US.
The modus operandi involved flying immigrant hopefuls to Canada on fake papers and hustling them across soft border spots in the Pacific Northwest between British Columbia and US's Washington state.
US and Canadian investigators said they had apprehended as many as 60 people who had paid up to $35,000 each for the American dream.
A federal grand jury in Seattle has indicted 14 men, including an American and a Canadian, for their roles in the alleged scheme and 12 had been arrested as of Wednesday, authorities said.
They included Kavel Multani, 46, a dual Canadian and Indian citizen living in Vancouver,
and Nizar Sabaz-Ali, 38, a Pakistani citizen of North York, Ontario.
Other names were given as Sandip Parhar,
Armardeep Singh Powar,
Raman Pathania,
Jatinder Brar,
Sukveer Sandhu,
Harjeevan Pahar, all of Surrey, British Columbia, and Harmindar Singh of Kent, Washington.
A grainy night video released by authorities while announcing the bust showed a group of people crouching by some vegetation near a border road and rushing into a pick-up vehicle that slows down.
Authorities said investigators began tracking the Vancouver-based operation in January 2005, when US customs officials got a tip about three men near Oroville, a small American town just south of the Canadian border.
The men had bought maps and had asked about border patrol and Canadian police enforcement activity in the area. Several days later, border patrol agents intercepted a minivan carrying 10 illegal aliens near Oroville and the whole scheme began to unravel.
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14 Indicted In Human Smuggling Ring
cbsnews.com
April 12, 2006
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Leigh Winchell of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement addresses media while Doug Whalley, left, an assistant U.S. attorney, and Ron Henley of U.S. Customs and Border Protection look on in Surrey, in British Columbia in Canada on April 12, 2006. (AP Photo/CP)
Investigators started tracking the operation when U.S. customs officials got a tip about three men in Oroville, Washington, who had bought maps of the border and had asked about border patrol and Canadian police enforcement activity in the area.
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(CBS/AP)<///b> U.S. and Canadian authorities announced Wednesday that they have broken up a human smuggling ring suspected of illegally shepherding dozens of Indian and Pakistani nationals into Washington state from British Columbia.
To date, a federal grand jury in Seattle has indicted 14 U.S. and Canadian men for their roles in the alleged scheme. Twelve had been arrested as of Wednesday.
Leigh Winchell, special agent in charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Seattle, said investigators on both sides of the border have worked closely for more than a year, apprehending roughly 50 people who had paid as much as $35,000 apiece to be smuggled into the United States. They were given fake U.S. Passports and were expected to fan out across the United States, reports CBS News correspondent Bill Whitaker.
More than 60 smuggled individuals have been detained, including young children, who authorities are considering victims, reports Whitaker.
Winchell said none of those smuggled or involved in the operation were suspected of terrorist activity.
Investigators started tracking the Vancouver, B.C.-based operation in January 2005, when U.S. customs officials got a tip about three men near Oroville, a small Eastern Washington town just south of the Canadian border. The men had bought maps of the border and had asked about border patrol and Canadian police enforcement activity in the area, U.S. and Canadian officials said in a joint news release.
Several days later, border patrol agents intercepted a minivan carrying 10 illegal aliens near the Oroville port of entry. The van was registered to the man investigators believe was the ringleader of the operation: Kavel Multani, 46, a dual Canadian and Indian citizen living in Vancouver, B.C.
Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers arrested Multani on Tuesday, along with three other men believed to be involved in the smuggling ring: Nizar Sabaz-Ali, 38, a Pakistani citizen of North York, Ontario; Sandip Parhar, 26, a Canadian citizen of Delta, B.C.; and Armardeep Singh Powar, 23, an Indian citizen of Vancouver.
Multani was named in a nine-count indictment unsealed Wednesday charging him with smuggling and transporting illegal aliens. Others arrested so far are:
Raman Pathania, 19, an Indian citizen of Surrey, B.C.
Anthony Maclean, 21, a Canadian citizen of Richmond, B.C.
Jatinder Brar, 19, a Canadian citizen of Surrey.
Sukveer Sandhu, 18, a Canadian citizen of Surrey.
Matthew Dehagi, 35, a Canadian citizen of Port Coquitlam, B.C.
Harjeevan Parhar, 23, an Indian citizen of Surrey.
Harminder Singh, 37, an Indian citizen of Kent, Wash.
Lawrence Carter, 23, a U.S. citizen of Whidbey Island, Wash.
Authorities were still seeking two other men who have been indicted. Their names were not released.
“This type of cooperative effort between Canadian and American law enforcement agencies demonstrates our commitment to ensuring that our shared border remains closed to criminal activity,” Bud Mercer, RCMP chief superintendent, said in a statement.
Winchell said two undercover agents infiltrated the alleged smuggling operation, which slipped most immigrants across the border in between patrolled ports of entry. He said the network in Vancouver is part of an organization spread across Canada, which means authorities have plenty of work ahead of them.
Winchell said he expects the close ties U.S. and Canadian authorities have maintained in recent years to continue. “It's as much a concern to them as it is to us,” he said, “because these organizations that have gained expertise or are willing to risk their own well-being in penetrating the border ... operate bilaterally.” |
