A Winnipeg man has been arrested and charged with human smuggling across the U.S.-Canada border at Gretna.
On the evening of Aug. 22, officers from the RCMP Federal Policing Northwest Region’s Integrated Border Enforcement Team (IBET) in Manitoba, working with the United States Border Patrol, became aware of a border incursion happening west of the Gretna Canada Border Services Agency Port of Entry.
Officers responded immediately and located the subjects walking northbound from the U.S. into Canada where they were picked up by a lone male driving a rental vehicle.
Police pulled over the vehicle. Eight people were arrested under the Customs Act. The driver was also arrested.
Of the people arrested under the Customs Act, four males and one female were from the Republic of Chad, two males were from the Republic of Sudan, and one female was from the Republic of Guinea. The subjects are all adults ranging in age from 19 to 48 years old.
The driver, a 35-year-old Somali national living in Winnipeg, has been charged with human smuggling. He will appear in Emerson court in October.
“We were able to interview all eight subjects with the assistance of RCMP officers who speak French and Arabic,” said Sgt. Lance Goldau, head of the IBET in Manitoba. “After our processes were completed, all of the migrants were turned over to Canada Border Services Agency for their processing, and we continue with the smuggling investigation against the suspect.
“This investigation speaks to the value of our partnership with the United States Border Patrol and we remain committed to working closely together in the interest of border security.”
