14623: Benodin: Migration cracks down on Chinese smuggling (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Robert Benodin <r.benodin@worldnet.att.net>

Migration cracks down on Chinese smuggling
DR1 Jan. 28-03
The Department of Migration announced that in the last quarter it has
disbanded 13 gangs involved in the trafficking of Chinese citizens, using
Haiti, the DR, the US and Puerto Rico as their gateways. He said that the
smugglers used hotels, restaurants and nail salons in Santiago, Boca Chica
and San Pedro de Macoris as fronts for their illegal operations. Migration
director Miguel Vasquez Escoto says that in addition to the commercial
fronts, the organizations operated clandestine consulates where
identification and migration documents were prepared for the Chinese.
The gangs have ties to Haiti, where the Chinese are transported to prior to
entering the DR by land across the border. Vazquez Escoto said that over 100
Chinese have been detained in the past three months, however because many
enter without any documentation, their deportation is complicated. Airlines
will not transport undocumented passengers.