HONG KONG — Hong Kong immigration officials have arrested eight people suspected of helping a Chinese passenger believed to be in his 20s sneak into Canada disguised as an old man.

Elly Au Yeung, an information officer for the Hong Kong Immigration Department, told The Associated Press on Monday that immigration officers made the arrests over the weekend. She said a current member of the Hong Kong International Airport ground staff and two former employees were among the arrested suspects.

The man sought asylum after arriving in Vancouver on Oct. 29. He is suspected of travelling to Hong Kong with genuine travel documents, then swapping them for fake papers and donning his disguise before boarding the flight to Canada.