Thampeernayagam Rajaratnam: Canada

Nadarajah Mahendran Dept: The charges announced Wednesday against Thampeernayagam Rajaratnam, Nadarajah Mahendran and Sathyapavan Aseervatham mean that a total of six men have now been charged with organizing the voyage of the MV Sun Sea, which arrived on Vancouver Island in August 2010, according to CTV. Two other accused smugglers are in police custody in Canada, while the third awaits extradition from France. If convicted, they face a maximum penalty of life in prison and a $1-million fine and three more men have been charged with human smuggling in connection to the rusty boat that landed in B.C. two years ago carrying 492 asylum seekers from Sri Lanka. Mounties say Rajaratnam was arrested in the Toronto area on Tuesday, while Canada-wide warrants have been issued for the arrests of Mahendran and Aseervatham, even though neither man is believed to be in the country. The three men are charged with organizing entry into Canada in contravention of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.