The Department of Migration announced that in the last quarter it has disbanded 13 gangs involved in the trafficking of Chinese citizens, using Haiti, the DR, the US and Puerto Rico as their gateways. He said that the smugglers used hotels, restaurants and nail salons in Santiago, Boca Chica and San Pedro de Macoris as fronts for their illegal operations. Migration director Miguel Vasquez Escoto says that in addition to the commercial fronts, the organizations operated clandestine consulates where identification and migration documents were prepared for the Chinese.
The gangs have ties to Haiti, where the Chinese are transported to prior to entering the DR by land across the border. Vazquez Escoto said that over 100 Chinese have been detained in the past three months, however because many enter without any documentation, their deportation is complicated. Airlines will not transport undocumented passengers.
