RCMP hunt first person charged in Sun Sea case

Sri Lankan Thayakaran Markandu is believed to be out of the country

The first human smuggling charges have been laid in an incident that brought hundreds of Sri Lankans to the B. C. coast on a cargo ship in the summer of 2010.

Thayakaran Markandu, a Sri Lankan national, has been charged with human smuggling in connection with the MV Sun Sea, a vessel that brought 492 illegal immigrants to Canada, RCMP said.

A Canada- wide warrant has been issued for Markandu’s arrest, but since he is not believed to be in Canada, the RCMP say they are working with international law agencies to locate and arrest him.

“Obtaining enough evidence to have Mr. Markandu charged is an important step in holding those responsible for perpetrating this human smuggling scheme accountable,” RCMP Supt. Derek Simmonds, the officer in charge of the province’s federal border

integrity program, said in a statement.

Under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, a charge of organizing illegal entry into Canada of 10 or more people carries stiff penalties, including a fine of $ 1 million, life imprisonment or both.

RCMP said Markandu was not on the MV Sun Sea, which was intercepted off the B. C. coast 20 months ago, but otherwise was tight- lipped about details on the Sri Lankan.

Police would not say if he had been living in Canada, or where he might be living abroad.

Police continue to investigate the MV Sun Sea smuggling incident, and have asked anyone with information on Markandu’s whereabouts to contact police in Canada or abroad, for example, by contacting Interpol.

Public Safety Minister Vic Toews commended the RCMP for its continuing investigation into the case.

“Canada is a generous and compassionate country that welcomes newcomers. But no

Canadian thinks it’s acceptable to abuse our immigration system for financial gain through the despicable crime of human smuggling,” Toews said in a statement.

The MV Sun Sea was the second ship to arrive on the B. C. coast with Tamil refugees from Sri Lanka.

The MV Ocean Lady arrived in Canada in October 2009 with 76 migrants.

Last June, four suspects were arrested and charged in that human smuggling incident.

Tamils faced difficult conditions in Sri Lanka after a civil war between the government and the rebel Tigers came to a violent end in 2009.

The MV Sun Sea’s passengers and crew — which included 63 women and 49 minors — said they faced murder, kidnapping and extortion in their home country, according to a letter released by the Canadian Tamil Congress at the time the ship arrived in 2010.