The RCMP have made four arrests and issued four additional arrest warrants in connection to a suspected human smuggling ring that was allegedly charging migrants thousands of dollars to sneak them over the border into the U.S. from Cornwall, Ont.
Police said the group carried out multiple smuggling operations involving over 100 migrants. Migrants were transported by boat along the St. Lawrence River or by land crossing in Dundee, Que., RCMP said.
The smuggled migrants primarily came from India, Romania and Sri Lanka, and were charged between $5,000 and $6,000 per person to cross the border.
The investigation was carried out by the Cornwall Regional Task Force, which was led by the RCMP and includes the Ontario Provincial Police, the Canadian Boarder Services Agency and the Ontario Ministry of Finance. The task force identified and investigated the human smuggling group in July 2022.
RCMP have charged eight people including:
- A 51-year-old from Montreal.
- A 38-year-old from Montreal.
- A 43-year-old from Saint-Régis, Que.
- A 21-year-old from Saint-Régis.
- A 47-year-old from Kanesatake.
- A 48-year-old from Akwesasne.
- A 51-year-old from Akwesasne.
- A 47-year old from Cornwall, Ont.
The offence period for all the accused ranges from July 14, 2022, to June 15, 2023. American authorities and the local police force in Akwesasne also aided in the investigation, RCMP said.
Police have linked this smuggling group to the deaths of eight people, a family of four from Romania and a family of four from India, who tried to cross the St. Lawrence River into the U.S. near Akwesasne. Their bodies were recovered in March 2023.
While four members of the alleged smuggling ring have been arrested, one is currently in custody in the U.S. on unrelated matters and three remain wanted.