Canada busts 'human traffickers'

Some large-scale human trafficking relies on ships

Police in Canada have arrested nine people who they say are part of a human-trafficking ring that has been operating for 10 years.

The criminal gang is accused of having smuggled nearly 1,200 people from east Asia to the United States via Canada in the past year.

Chinese, North Koreans and South Koreans reportedly paid the gang anything from $7,000 to $25,000 for passage, and were often forced into labour or prostitution when they arrived in the US.

"This criminal group used the people they were smuggling as a commodity," said Inspector Steve Martin of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

The arrests followed a year-long joint operation by the RCMP, the US Immigration and Naturalization Service and South Korea's National Police.

More warrants issued

The suspects, most of whom are of Asian origin, face fines of more than $300,000 and up to 10 years in jail.

Aliens are also smuggled via lorry

Arrest warrants have also been filed for five other Canadian residents, and some reports say up to nine people have been arrested in the US as part of the same operation.

Police allege that Chinese and Koreans entered Canada posing as tourists and were then smuggled across the border into the US.

Koreans can enter Canada - unlike the US - without a visa.

Profitable trade

Canadian police described the suspects as part of "a highly complex and well organised criminal network".

Human trafficking is one of the world's most lucrative criminal activities, experts say.

Arnaud De Borchgrave, director of the global organised crime unit at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, described this investigation as "a drop in the bucket".

Criminal networks are thought to smuggle up to 500,000 people into the US each year.