Canada's Public Safety Minister Vic Toews has reportedly said he was told that the organizers of the voyage of the MV Sun Sea, which reached Canadian waters on Friday with more than 450 men, women and children on board, charged up to $50,000 a passenger ' for a potential total haul of more than $20-million.
Inside the Canadian government, questions are being raised as to whether Canadian residents helped pay, Toews has said in an interview Sunday.
Under Canadian law, it is a criminal offence to give money to a banned terrorist organization or to participate in human smuggling.
The refugees on the MV Sun Sea are suspected of being members of the banned Tamil Tiger terrorist organization Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
Toews has said that he is worried by reports from his officials that the journey could have been organized by the LTTE.
According to authorities the cargo ship MV Sun Sea has been purposely modified to carry a human cargo for a long time in the sea. The ship has been loaded with rice, dhal and other non perishable food.
The report further states that the RCMP has confirmed Sunday that its investigation of the Sun Sea could include human smuggling.
"Obviously they will follow every connection between the payment of money and those who received it," Toews has said.
Toews has said that all of those on the Sun Sea have made refugee claims, which will come before immigration tribunals beginning today (16).
Meanwhile, the Tamil diaspora is making diligent arrangements to find lawyers to represent the migrants in their asylum claims.
The Canadian Tamil Congress has assembled a team of lawyers from Toronto and Vancouver to represent the approximately 400 men, 60 women and 30 children who arrived on MV Sun Sea, Vancouver Sun reported.
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