A years-long investigation by federal authorities has uncovered an elaborate “human smuggling network” that may have helped close to a thousand Chinese migrants cross the Canada-U.S. border via a public park just steps away from a busy B.C. port of entry, according to newly unsealed court documents obtained by the National Post.
A major part of the scheme saw Chinese nationals fly to the United States on valid travel visas, make their way to Seattle and then get dropped off by members of the network at or near Peace Arch Park — a 16-hectare park that straddles the international border between Surrey, B.C., and Blaine, Wash.
An email to would-be border jumpers, uncovered during the investigation and translated from Chinese, instructed them to “smile” and “be natural” when walking through the park and to pretend to take pictures. “If someone questions, the answer is, (I’m) only tourist … not going to Canada,” it said.
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