Human Smuggling: Ukrainian Men Plead Guilty
Two Ukrainian men who attempted to smuggle eight people into Canada on a sailboat that left Bermuda were jailed after pleading guilty today [Oct 13] in Halifax provincial court, according to the Canadian media.
Mykola Tyshkivskyy, 46, was sentenced to 2½ years in prison, while Vasyl Aksenin, 27, was given a 15-month sentence.
The pair were arrested June 19 after a 13-metre sailboat, the Valletta, was intercepted near Shelburne by Canadian authorities. Mr. Tyshkivskyy was captain of the vessel and Mr. Aksenin was the skipper.
Mr. Aksenin had claimed the eight other people on the boat were crew members on a training cruise, but the Canadian authorities determined that the passengers were trying to enter Canada illegally.
Canada’s Chronicle Herald said that “Each passenger had paid a man in Kiev named Igor between $6,000 and $12,000 to be smuggled into Canada on a vessel.”
A local Maritime official confirmed the boat arrived in Bermuda on June 6th from Antigua, and left on June 11th. Bermuda officials also told us there were 10 people onboard the sailboat when it arrived, and 10 when it left. The boat cleared customs in St George’s, and anchored in Convict Bay.
If they claimed refugee status we would have taken them in! Better luck next time..
kno dat