Although the Sri Lankan man’s refugee claim had been denied and his appeal to the courts had been rejected, the Canada Border Services Agency agreed to release him from custody five days before he was to be deported.

When he didn’t turn up for his scheduled removal, the CBSA issued an arrest warrant on Feb. 13. Although it seems likely he has gone into hiding, migrants facing deportation will sometimes leave Canada on their own without notifying the authorities, the newspaper further said.

In a recent ruling, however, the Federal Court said the passengers of the Sun Sea had a “myriad of motives” for coming to Canada. “Some were human smugglers. Some may well have been terrorists. Some were garden-variety criminals who wanted to escape justice. Some were economic migrants.”