Race to find kidnap ship
LilMtnCbn
Race to find kidnap ship
From STEVE GRAVENOR
in Colombo, Sri Lanka
A BOAT packed with dozens of kidnapped tsunami orphans was being hunted last
night.
Police fear the kids could be sold illegally to Western couples or used in the
child sex trade.
The fishing trawler left the Sri Lankan capital of Colombo a week after the
killer waves struck and is believed to be heading for the Kolkata area of
India.
Coastguard, navy and police boats are desperately scouring the Bay of Bengal.
Conditions on the trawler are believed to be cramped and unhygienic and aid
workers are concerned the orphans may be disease-ridden by the time they arrive
in India.
Police were alerted after a charity worker in Colombo saw the boat leave.
A police source said: “We were told it is full of children orphaned by the
tsunami and that the criminals behind it are planning to sell them to people in
the West.
“We don’t know whether it is for adoptions or for use in the child sex and
porn trade.”
There have been fears that crooks would cash in on the plight of the thousands
of orphans in Sri Lanka, where child abuse is a big problem.
A police spokesman said: “We are taking this matter very seriously. These
children must be completely terrified and traumatised.
“We are doing everything we can but the Indian Ocean is a very big place.”
-------------------------
A good friend will come and bail you out of jail . . . but, a true friend will
be sitting next to you saying, "Damn . . . that was fun!"
-----Unknown