The Island
(AHN) – The Sri Lankans caught over the weekend by the Canada Border Services Agency guards pointed to a man named Abraham Lauhenapessy as the head of a human smuggling ring behind their attempt to enter Canada illegally.
The Sri Lankans said they paid up to $45,000 per head to Lauhenapessy – also known as Captain Bram – who had been involved in the human smuggling trade for over 10 years. Bram is also behind the attempt of 254 Tamils to enter Australia illegally. For the Australian attempt, he charged $15,000 per person. Children and infants are charged the full amount.
Bram commandeered the M.V. Ocean Lady, which was intercepted by CBSA agents on Sunday and towed to Victoria. The 76 Sri Lankan males aboard the vessel are now in a Vancouver facility undergoing processing to see if they would qualify to be accepted by Ottawa.
However, Immigration Minister Jason Kenney has indicated it would be difficult for the illegal migrants since the federal government of Canada does not want to create the impression that are two methods of entering the country – one by the legal immigration route and the other illegal means which abuses its asylum system.
The Tamil community in Canada is pressuring Ottawa to take in the 76 illegal migrants for humanitarian reasons. The group sent two lawyers to assist the Sri Lankans, but the lawyers were not permitted to see the probable asylum seekers.