Dharm Makwana

A criminal mastermind must be behind the Thai freighter carrying up to 500 Tamil migrants to the British Columbia shores, according to a human-trafficking expert.

UBC professor Benjamin Perrin said Thursday only a small number of organizations could manage such a sophisticated and large-scale migrant smuggling operation that would be able to collect debts ranging in the tens of thousands of dollars for passage owed by those aboard the MV Sun Sea.

"This is not some sort of humanitarian flotilla run by the Red Cross," said Perrin. "This is likely a criminal enterprise operated by current or former terrorists."

He acknowledged a strong possibility the ship, reportedly carrying men, women and children, is under control of terrorist organization Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), which the Sri Lankan government defeated in 2009 after a three decade civil war.

"Nevertheless, there are still assets in terms of these sorts of vessels," Perrin said. "LTTE is unique among terrorist organizations worldwide because it is the only terrorist organization, during its long-term conflict in Sri Lanka, able to ship in and assemble aircraft which it's used for bombing. This is a very sophisticated organization and these organizations don't vanish."

The federal government is still sorting out refugee claims of 76 men who arrived at Vancouver Island in similar fashion in October 2009.