Three-year-old girl among 21 South Asians intercepted on smuggling boat off Hong Kong airport
Marine police believe the suspected snakehead was trying to take advantage of foggy weather to sneak into Hong Kong
A boatload of South Asian illegal immigrants, including a three-year-old Pakistani girl, was intercepted by police off Hong Kong International Airport yesterday as people smugglers apparently took advantage of foggy weather to try to avoid detection, the Post was told.
Twenty-two people, including a suspected snakehead from the mainland, were found crammed into an open wooden boat without safety gear when they were arrested west of the airport’s runaway at about 5.45am.
READ MORE: Several people-smuggling rackets operate in Hong Kong to bring South Asians to the city, police say
They included 14 Pakistanis – 12 males and two females – and seven men from India and Bangladesh.
“We were told that the boat left Zhuhai on Tuesday night. It sailed slowly and the journey lasted more than six hours,” one source with knowledge of the investigation said.
He said the six-metre-long boat was designed to carry fewer than 10 people and those on board were not given any safety gear such as life jackets.
“The people-smuggling gang had no regard for their safety,” the source said. “The 20-year-old suspected snakehead claimed he was paid about 1,000 yuan (HK$1,190) to pilot the boat to Hong Kong.”
