A Canadian passport holder who was promised $5,000 to smuggle illegal immigrants from the mainland to the US via Hong Kong was arrested at Kai Tak with fake green cards in his shoe.
Chen Zhai-cheng, 42, was stopped on September 12 by immigration officials who also found three bogus mainland passports in his bag. He pleaded guilty to possessing false instruments.
Chen met a snakehead in Fuzhou, Fujian province, who promised him $5,000 to escort three mainland men to the US, Prosecutor Jonathan Man Tak-ho told the District Court.
But after travelling to Beijing to pick up false green cards and passports, the three were stopped by mainland immigration officials and Chen came to Hong Kong alone.
Put on an airport watch-list, he was stopped by Hong Kong immigration officers when he presented his Canadian passport for a return trip to Fuzhou.
Judge Richard Hawkes adjourned sentencing until November 27 for background reports.
