US embassy cable - 05VANCOUVER1521

UNCLAS VANCOUVER 001521 
 
SIPDIS 
 
G/TIP FOR WENDY OWEN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KCRM, CVIS, KWMN, CA, KS, Border Patrol 
SUBJECT: ALIEN SMUGGLING OPERATION THWARTED 
 
1.  U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) personnel arrested a 
group of twelve people attempting to enter the U.S. near 
Oroville, Washington, on December 1.  The group, consisting of 
seven women and five men, was arrested in a van near the 
Washington-British Columbia border minutes after entering the US 
on foot.  All except the driver were South Korean nationals. 
The driver, Julian Ng of Burnaby, British Columbia, is a citizen 
of Canada.  The van had been rented under another person's name 
in Seattle. 
 
2.  The group will be interviewed in depth today by a team from 
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to determine the 
possible charges that might be brought against the individuals 
involved.  In discussions with DHS officials, post has learned 
that one of those arrested appears to have been denied entry to 
the US at Los Angeles airport in 2001 as an alien smuggler. 
ICE officials believe additional arrests may be possible in this 
case. 
 
3.  Comment:  The incident has appeared on several local news 
media in Vancouver and may pressage an increase in South Korean 
alien smuggling in our consular district.  In 2003, estimates of 
South Koreans being smuggled into the US along our consular 
district's southern border ran as high as 400 a month. 
LUKENS