Thank you, Chair.
Some of those are operational police questions that I can't comment on, but we'll try to get back to you with an estimate of the up-to-date costs associated with processing those migrants.
Second, I understand that about 200 of the 497 passengers of the Sun Sea have been released on terms, from immigration detention, by the IRB. I think those would include all or most of the women and children who were on board. People of concern whose identities have not yet been established are still under detention, as authorized by the IRB. It's very difficult for the CBSA and their security partners to get information on who such individuals are.
With respect to the crews, this is a question that's often asked, because people I think correctly assume that the crews are involved in the smuggling operations. All I can tell you is what's in the public domain. I believe there was a report last week that the RCMP are coming close to laying charges with respect to the Ocean Lady and/or the Sun Sea and facilitators who may have been on the Canadian side.
It's my understanding—I think I can say this, because it's in the public domain—that there are three or four criminal syndicates involved in this form of smuggling out of Southeast Asia involving specifically Tamil clients. They were typically involved in being parallel organizations to the LTTE--not integrated within its command structure, but involved in the provision of supplies, including armaments, to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam during the civil war. So they're very sophisticated in terms of logistics. They're like a very sophisticated travel agency operating in the shadows.
They provide a full-scale service, whether it's acquiring passports or visas, facilitating people across borders with the exchange of money, or ensuring that local authorities aren't too focused on their presence. The amount of work they have to do in acquiring a large, steel-hulled vessel capable of crossing the Pacific is one of those things, as is getting the supplies together and moving people around.
This is a very large, sophisticated operation, and that's why we have substantially increased the presence of Canadian police and intelligence officials in the transit countries. That has yielded increased cooperation with the local police and intelligence. I'd particularly like to commend our friends in Australia, who've developed expertise in this area. The Royal Thai Police have also been very helpful in the recent past in trying to interrupt these operations.
Hopefully that answers some of your questions.