CORNWALL, Ont. – A Cornwall, Ont., man and three foreign nationals have been arrested in what border officials say was an attempt to smuggle people from the United States into Canada.
The Canada Border Services Agency says it got information from its U.S. counterparts on Feb. 11 that three foreign nationals were identified in Massena, N.Y., as acting in “a suspicious manner.”
The CBSA says it conducted surveillance on the three people with the help of its partners.
It says the Akwesasne Mohawk Police Service were then able to intercept and arrest the trio as well as a resident of Cornwall on Cornwall Island, which sits in the Saint Lawrence River on the Canadian side of the border.
The CBSA says the Cornwall man was arrested for aiding and abetting the illegal movement of people into Canada under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.
The three foreign nationals were arrested for entering Canada without examination. The CBSA did not disclose their nationalities or further details about them.
The CBSA says the foreigners had detention reviews and admissibility hearings on Feb. 15 and 16, and are being held in custody until they can be deported.
The Cornwall man was released on a promise to appear in court March 15.
CBSA spokesman Chris Kealey said the case was a good example of how law enforcement agencies can work well together.
Kealey said he didn’t know why the three foreign nationals were trying to enter Canada, but he noted people try to move undetected across both sides of the border.
In a similar case last September, a group of foreign nationals attempted to cross into Ontario from the U.S. in the same area aboard a See-Doo, Kealey said
“There were too many people on that device and it tipped over and two people drowned as a result,” he said.