Authorities bust alien smuggling scheme

Authorities have uncovered a syndicate that smuggles aliens to the United States, involving multiple Asia-Pacific destination flights for clients who use tampered passports and are escorted by an American citizen in the final trip to the U.S. mainland. The scheme also involves the use of Saipan as springboard to Guam and the mainland United States.

The scheme cropped up in an investigation conducted by the Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which paved the way for the filing of a federal criminal complaint against a Chinese man who allegedly works for a China-based alien smuggling boss.

An escort admitted to the ICE that he had been smuggling aliens to the United States for several years for financial gain. Besides the paid trip and travel allowance, the escort’s fee for a successful trip amounts to some $2,000, based on the complaint filed recently at the U.S. District Court.

ICE special agent Melvin Grey lodged the complaint against Wei Cai, also known as Michael, who faces a charge of conspiracy to commit alien smuggling for financial gain.

In his investigation, Grey said authorities busted an attempt by a Chinese woman, Wen Ling Ren, to unlawfully enter the United States when Customs Border Protection officers at the Guam International Airport sensed that she was involved in an alien smuggling scheme.

At the Guam airport, Ren presented a Portuguese passport bearing her name and photograph, which was later discovered to be a tampered one. Ren admitted on questioning by CBP officers that she is a Chinese citizen, and that the Portuguese passport was provided her. She came from Hong Kong to Saipan via Manila before leaving for Guam.

According to Grey, the woman admitted that her parents had paid “snakeheads” [alien smugglers] to escort her to the United States.

“Ren said that she traveled from her home in Changle City, Fujian Province, to Fushou, where an alien smuggling ‘boss’ introduced her to her escort, a man she referred to as ‘teacher.’ The boss gave Ren and the escort tickets to travel from Fuzhou to Hong Kong. The boss also gave her a Portuguese passport bearing her photograph,” Grey stated in the complaint.

Investigation showed that Ren traveled to Hong Kong using her Chinese passport. In Hong Kong, the escort provided her a ticket to Saipan, where they arrived on Sept. 11.

The escort, Ryan Yi-Fu Tsang, admitted to authorities that the smuggling boss from China sent Cai to Saipan on a flight from Korea to meet him and the client on the island.

“Tsang advised that Michael [Cai] was sent to Saipan by the alien smuggling boss, and that Michael’s purpose for coming to Saipan was essentially to assist in the alien smuggling scheme by providing the funds to purchase tickets for their [Tsang and Ren] onward travel to Honolulu,” Grey said.

Tsang confessed that he would be paid $2,000 for escorting Ren to New York upon their successful arrival.

Although Tsang was allowed to board the flight from Guam to Honolulu, ICE and CBP officers intercepted him in Hawaii after authorities there were alerted by Guam authorities about the suspected alien smuggling scheme after questioning Ren.

Meanwhile, ICE and CNMI Immigration officers intercepted Cai when the latter was attempting to leave Saipan back to China via Korea. CNMI immigration officers detained him for violating local immigration laws.

Cai claimed that he traveled to Saipan as a tourist and stayed at a hotel with two unidentified Chinese persons whom he met on the island. He admitted accompanying his two roommates to a travel agency, but denied purchasing plane tickets for them for the Honolulu trip.

Grey said, however, that Cai was identified by an employee at the World Tour and Travel Agency on Saipan as the one who purchased Ren’s plane ticket from Saipan to Honolulu for $2,032 in cash. At the travel agency, Cai allegedly represented himself as Ren’s boyfriend.

“Ren identified Cai as a person who was sent from China by the ‘snakehead,’ to assist in Ren’s smuggling scheme. Ren corroborated the information provided by Tsang, by essentially advising that Cai was sent to Saipan by the smuggling boss in China to purchase Ren’s onward plane ticket to Honolulu, and to pay for incidental expenses, such as food and lodging in Saipan, and to arrange for Ren’s lodging in Honolulu,” Grey said.