EGYPTIAN BABY SMUGGLING RING TO CANADA-USA, PROBED BY RCMP

Canadian diplomatic officials in Cairo and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) were probing up to a dozen cases of Egyptian infants being smuggled to Canada in a baby-trafficking ring, according to a U.S. embassy cable published by WikiLeaks. The network may also have been used as a way to smuggle Egyptian babies to the United States via Canada, said the September 2009 cable.

• On Sept. 17, 2009, an Egyptian judge handed out two- to five-year jail sentences to 11 members of a baby-smuggling ring that used false birth registration papers to bring children to the United States. The verdict came after a year-long investigation by Egyptian authorities, said the cable from the U.S. Embassy in Cairo. Other embassies, including Canada's, were notified.
• "The Canadian Embassy undertook a comprehensive review of almost 300 cases, identifying about a dozen that were suspect and subsequently referring those to SSIS [Egyptian State Security Investigative Services]," the cable said.
• "On July 6, [2009], a visiting team from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police arrived in Cairo specifically to begin an investigation of the baby-smuggling network with regards to Canada. Further close cooperation with the RCMP will be important in identifying cases that may have used Canada as a means to enter the United States," said the cable.
• In some cases, Coptic Christian priests and nuns acted as baby brokers, said the cable. "The FPU [Fraud Prevention Unit] has confirmed the active role of Coptic priests and nuns in smuggling infants and children to the United States," said the cable.
• A RCMP spokesman said the investigation has not led to any charges, but declined to comment on its status.

On Nov. 28, 2010, WikiLeaks — a website that seeks out and publishes classified documents, particularly ones related to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq — began posting more than a quarter-million leaked United States embassy cables.

Source: CBC