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http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/412816.html
Israeli gets 3.5 years for people smuggling in New Zealand
By DPA
WELLINGTON - A 34-year-old Israeli was jailed for three-and-a-half years on Tuesday, after failing to convince a judge he should only be fined for trying to smuggle three Ukrainians into New Zealand.
Rejecting Victor Chechelnitski's offer to pay a fine of 10,000 New Zealand dollars (about 6,600 U.S. dollars), the Auckland High Court judge said that would be seen by people smugglers as a business expense.
Police said Chechel
itski was arrested in February when he flew from Bangkok into Auckland with three Ukrainians he had given false Israeli passports.
He was the first person convicted under tough new people smuggling l
aws
passed in 2002, which carry a maximum prison sentence of 20 years.
n
The judge said that Chechelnitski was not the organizer of the immigrant-smuggling racket but more of a courier, and noted that the trio had been brought to New Zealand on a plane, not a leaky boat, Radio New Zealand reported.
The three Ukrainians, named by police as Serhiy Manyk, Iryna Manyk and Anatoliy Hushul, were said to have paid 7,800 U.S. dollars in Kiev to reach New Zealand.
They have been charged with possessing false passports.
http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/412816.html
Israeli gets 3.5 years for people smuggling in New Zealand
By DPA
WELLINGTON - A 34-year-old Israeli was jailed for three-and-a-half years on Tuesday, after failing to convince a judge he should only be fined for trying to smuggle three Ukrainians into New Zealand.
Rejecting Victor Chechelnitski's offer to pay a fine of 10,000 New Zealand dollars (about 6,600 U.S. dollars), the Auckland High Court judge said that would be seen by people smugglers as a business expense.
Police said Chechel
itski was arrested in February when he flew from Bangkok into Auckland with three Ukrainians he had given false Israeli passports.
He was the first person convicted under tough new people smuggling l
aws
passed in 2002, which carry a maximum prison sentence of 20 years.
n
The judge said that Chechelnitski was not the organizer of the immigrant-smuggling racket but more of a courier, and noted that the trio had been brought to New Zealand on a plane, not a leaky boat, Radio New Zealand reported.
The three Ukrainians, named by police as Serhiy Manyk, Iryna Manyk and Anatoliy Hushul, were said to have paid 7,800 U.S. dollars in Kiev to reach New Zealand.
They have been charged with possessing false passports.