Hong Kong International Arport is an important transit point for the global human trafficking racket, according to a new UN report.
Released today, the United Nations “Migrant Smuggling in Asia” probe pinpoints Hong Kong’s Chek Lap Kok Airport as an “important embarkation point for Middle Eastern migrants travelling to Malaysia and Indonesia, as well as mainland Chinese migrants heading to the West.
Many are said to be provided with fraudulent travel documents, apparently made in China but handed over in Hong Kong.
Some even travel under the guise of being students, either with fake academic documents or real papers supplied educational institutions implicit in the crime, the report claims.
Fees of up to USD50,000 (HKD388,000) are charged, with much of the money laundered in Hong Kong.
Those who cannot afford to pay upfront will usually face debt bondage, forcing them to work under harsh conditions over several years.
“The obligation to repay high smuggling fees … and the perceived inability to seek assistance and report crimes contribute to making Chinese irregular migrants vulnerable to human trafficking,” the report read, reports the SCMP.
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