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VANCOUVER — The young Tanzanian could neither read nor write in English. It was her wealthy employer, Mumtaz Ladha, who filled out a temporary visitor’s visa application that eventually allowed the woman into Canada, a B.C. Supreme Court judge heard Thursday in Vancouver. And much of what was jotted down was completely false, court heard.

Contrary to what was claimed on her visa application, the woman was not Ms. Ladha’s housekeeper, court was told. Nor had she ever worked for her as a nanny. Ms. Ladha was neither ill nor in need of a travelling companion in Canada, as stated in a cover letter attached to the woman’s visa application form.

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Who wrote the cover letter, with its allegedly false information? Ms. Ladha.

A Canadian citizen with business interests in Africa, Ms. Ladha is charged with human trafficking, employing a foreign national without authorization, misrepresenting facts to Citizen and Immigration Canada (CIC) and misrepresenting facts to the High Commission of Canada in Tanzania. She has pleaded not guilty to all charges; her trial began last week.