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An email uncovered during the investigation and translated from Chinese instructed would-be border jumpers to “smile” and “be natural” when walking through the park and to pretend to take pictures.

While Kong had a hands-on role in the initial stages of the operation, the task of drop-offs and pick-ups was eventually delegated to others, according to investigators. But Kong was still involved in helping migrants obtain airplane tickets and transporting them to the airport, court records say. Many of the migrants ended up filing refugee claims at an inland government office in Etobicoke, a suburb of Toronto.

The investigation culminated last September with the arrest of Kong, a former sawmill worker. He was charged under section 117 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act with seven counts related to human smuggling between 2014 and 2015 involving 34 migrants, some of them children. Kong’s adult son, Matthew, was also arrested last year and faces lesser charges under the same act. He has pleaded not guilty.

Photo by CBSA

Electronic ledgers — or “score sheets” — found on a computer in Michael Kong’s home listed the names of more than 900 foreign nationals believed to have been smuggled between 2011 and 2016, according to investigators.

Of those listed, about one third were found to have filed refugee claims in Canada, while a few were smuggled into the U.S. The whereabouts of the others is not known.

When the Post tried to determine who on the Canadian side was responsible for patrolling the park, authorities couldn’t seem to agree. The CBSA said it was the RCMP’s responsibility. However, the RCMP said Peace Arch Park was “a collaborative, layered responsibility that is patrolled in partnership with CBSA, the Surrey RCMP and an RCMP Federal Unit.”