Canadian charged with smuggling 34 Chinese migrants from U.S. into B.C. pleads guilty

A Canadian man has pleaded guilty to multiple counts of human smuggling across the U.S.-Canada border.

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported Monday that 62-year-old Michael Kong pleaded guilty Monday after being charged with helping 34 Chinese migrants cross into Canada from the United States.

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Officials say the migrants travelled to the U.S. from China on visas before walking through the Peace Arch border crossing into Canada, about 112 miles (180 kilometres) north of Seattle.

Officials say after entering Canada most of the Chinese migrants flew to a city near Toronto to file refugee claims.

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Authorities say more than 900 foreign names were found on a list in Kong’s home and are believed to have been smuggled between 2011 and 2016.

The Canadian government says Kong’s charges carry a mandatory three-year-minimum sentence.