July 12, 2012 - 8:49 AM
TAIPEI, Taiwan - Officials in Taiwan have arrested more than 40 people in a human trafficking ring that may have sent hundreds of Chinese nationals into Canada and Australia.
A report on the Taipei Times newspaper website says the lucrative operation was allegedly run by Chinese national Wang Cheng-wei, who was arrested in February.
Since Wang’s arrest, Taiwan's National Immigration Agency reportedly cracked multiple cases of human smuggling by working with authorities in Canada and Australia.
According to Taiwan’s National Immigration Agency, the smugglers would buy Chinese passports for people from Fujian Province and add their photos to the documents.
The report says the smugglers conducted more than 50 successful operations, smuggling one to four Chinese per trip.
Canada has launched an ambitious international effort to prevent smugglers from reaching its shores.
In 2009, the MV Ocean Lady brought 76 Tamil migrants to British Columbia, and the MV Sun Sea brought 492 a year later.
The Harper government has offered financial assistance to help foreign countries like Thailand to crack down on human smuggling rings.
The government has also introduced a tough new immigration bill that targets the gangs.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2012