Close X
Thursday, November 28, 2024
ADVT 
National

B.C. Supreme Court Jury Finds Man Guilty Of Smuggling Tamil Migrants To Canada

The Canadian Press, 29 May, 2017 12:04 PM
    VANCOUVER — A prosecutor says a man accused of bringing hundreds of Tamil migrants into Canada illegally in a dilapidated cargo ship nearly seven years ago has been found guilty.
     
    Crown counsel Charles Hough says a B.C. Supreme Court jury found Kunarobinson Christhurajah guilty Saturday of human smuggling 10 or more persons.
     
    It was a retrial for the Sri Lankan national over his involvement in the voyage of the MV Sun Sea that travelled from Thailand to British Columbia's coast in 2010.
     
    The vessel, which was considered unseaworthy in the open ocean, crossed the Pacific without a formal crew, carrying 492 Sri Lankan Tamils who intended to claim refugee status.
     
     
    A previous trial heard Christhurajah was an asylum seeker and travelled on the Sun Sea with his wife, while Rajaratnam's mother-in-law, father-in-law, brother-in-law and two cousins were on board.
     
    The trial which ended in January acquitted three other men who had been accused human smuggling in the case, but the jury at the time was left undecided on Christhurajah.
     
    Christhurajah served more than six years in jail before being granted bail in February.
     
    Hough wouldn't comment further on the case and Christhurajah's lawyer Casey Leggett also declined to comment.
     
    Justice Catherine Wedge did not schedule a sentencing hearing, and Hough says Christhurajah remains free on bail.

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Abbotsford Real Estate Appraiser Facing Child Porn Charges

    Abbotsford Real Estate Appraiser Facing Child Porn Charges
    A 33-year-old suspect named Joshua James KITSUL was identified inconnection to that internet account. Investigators executed a search warrant at KITSUL’s residence on April 28, 2017, and seized numerous computers, data storage devices and cell phones. 

    Abbotsford Real Estate Appraiser Facing Child Porn Charges

    Residents In Okanagan Ready For Second Flood As Water Rises Elsewhere In B.C.

    Residents In Okanagan Ready For Second Flood As Water Rises Elsewhere In B.C.
    Residents dealing with homes damaged by flooding in Kelowna, B.C., have walled off their properties with six to seven layers of sandbags in preparation for another threat of rising water.

    Residents In Okanagan Ready For Second Flood As Water Rises Elsewhere In B.C.

    One Suspect In Custody After Targeted Double Shooting In Burnaby Sends Two To Hospital

    One Suspect In Custody After Targeted Double Shooting In Burnaby Sends Two To Hospital
    On May 11, 2017, at approximately 6 p.m., Burnaby RCMP was called to the 6700-block of Broadway Avenue after receiving a report of a shooting.

    One Suspect In Custody After Targeted Double Shooting In Burnaby Sends Two To Hospital

    Elections BC Estimates Voter Turnout At 60 Per Cent, Up From 2013 Election

    Elections BC Estimates Voter Turnout At 60 Per Cent, Up From 2013 Election
    VICTORIA — Elections BC says preliminary data from Tuesday's provincial election suggests registered voter turnout was about 60 per cent.

    Elections BC Estimates Voter Turnout At 60 Per Cent, Up From 2013 Election

    Storm Sidesteps Soggy Okanagan, B.C., But Flood Threat Still Looms

    Storm Sidesteps Soggy Okanagan, B.C., But Flood Threat Still Looms
    VANCOUVER — Thunderstorms and heavy rain bypassed British Columbia's Okanagan region Thursday night, sparing the flood-plagued region from further high water, but emergency officials said the danger has not passed.

    Storm Sidesteps Soggy Okanagan, B.C., But Flood Threat Still Looms

    Manitoba RCMP Make Arrest In 10-year-old Homicide, Release Woman The Next Day

    MACGREGOR, Man. — RCMP in Manitoba have released the person they arrested in the homicide of a grandmother nearly 10 years ago.

    Manitoba RCMP Make Arrest In 10-year-old Homicide, Release Woman The Next Day