The U.S. Border Patrol recently stopped a smuggling attempt of 14 Indian nationals from Canada to the U.S. near the Quebec-New York State border. It was one of the largest such interceptions in the area over the past three years.
The driver claimed he was mysteriously recruited, resembling a spy novel, receiving a phone and cash, and instructed to pick up passengers in New York. U.S. The intercepted group was found crammed inside an SUV’s cargo hold.
The interception location suggests a potential shift in smuggling tactics, and this area is known for having the highest rate of irregular border crossings along the Canada-U.S. border. Customs and Border Protection reported over 4,900 arrests in the same region in the last 10 months, exceeding the total from the previous eight years.
Earlier, a fatal smuggling attempt involving Indian and Romanian nationals took place along the St. Lawrence River. Networks moving citizens from Mexico and Central America have previously used the route that the Indian nationals took on July 20.
Smuggling networks from India are known to coordinate with Canadian brokers and Akwesasne-based boat operators. The majority of land border crossings in this region involve Mexican and Central American nationals, often arranged by Mexico-linked human smuggling networks based in cities like Toronto.
