Ontario Man Caught Smuggling People From India Into The U.S. From Calgary, Toronto & Montreal

On Friday, an Indian national from Brampton, Ontario, pleaded guilty in a federal court in the United States to human smuggling as part of a network that could have smuggled hundreds of individuals from India across the Canada-United States border.

Simranjit (Shally) Singh, 41, pleaded guilty to six charges of alien smuggling and three counts of conspiracy to commit alien smuggling before Judge Mae A. D'Agostino in Albany, New York.

Singh wore a short-sleeved orange jumpsuit with the words ACCF Inmate (Albany County Correctional Facility) inscribed on the back. He wore black-rimmed glasses with salt and pepper stubble down his face and chin. A little tattoo was hidden behind his left ear, while another was inked along his left forearm.

Singh's family and friends did not attend the hearing.

Man From Ontario Smuggled People From India To The U.S. Via Calgary, Toronto, Montreal

Photo: Ontario Superior Court Of Justice

Singh said in his plea deal that he arranged for persons smuggled into the United States from India by flying them to Calgary, Toronto, and Montreal before bringing them to Cornwall, Ont. Singh then transported the Indian nationals by boat across the St. Lawrence River through Akwesasne, a Haudenosaunee village about 120 kilometres west of Montreal on the Canada-US border. According to US police, Singh boasted about smuggling more than 1,000 people into the US from Canada.

According to court papers, the case against Singh was based on information acquired through surveillance, Facebook messages, and human sources relating to four attempted smuggling efforts over the St. Lawrence River between March 2020 and April 2022.

Singh worked as a middleman, charging $5,000 to $35,000 a person to bring mostly Indian nationals into the United States. He then paid locals in Akwesasne between $2,000 and $3,000 each person to ferry them across the river across the territory of the community.

Credit: CBC

Singh's charge has nothing to do with the deaths of eight suspected migrants, four Indian citizens, on the St. Lawrence River in March (new window). However, Singh's methods and tactics are similar to those utilized by the network behind the tragic human smuggling effort, killing a Romanian family of four.

The plea deal includes Singh's admission that he transported Indian nationals onto boats that launched from Cornwall Island in Akwesasne across the water to the southern shore of the St. Lawrence River, where they were picked up in vehicles and driven to neighbouring New York state motels.

The Indian and Romanian families that died in March took the same path.

During Covid-19 Outbreak, This Was Smuggled

The U.S. prosecution against Singh arose from his failed effort to smuggle three Indian people into the U.S. in March 2020, just before the COVID-19 outbreak forced a border closure. According to court records, he used a single mother of two from Akwesasne who was coping with extreme trauma and faced care-related bills for one of her children who required extended hospitalisation.

The woman is reported to have picked up three Indian nationals after they crossed the St. Lawrence River and driven them to a motel on Akwesasne's eastern border, which was under U.S. Border Patrol surveillance. The next day, after she returned and picked up the three Indian nationals who tried to flee the traffic stop, agents halted her vehicle.

Credit: CBC

The woman also attempted to run, finally colliding with four Border Patrol vehicles. In another example, a family in India allegedly paid Singh thousands of dollars to smuggle a family member into the United States in late winter 2021. Singh drove the person to a motel in Cornwall, Ontario. According to U.S. data, Singh boasted about smuggling over 1,000 people and that [the Indian national] had nothing to worry about.

On March 4, the Indian national boarded a boat with three other migrants and arrived on the part of Akwesasne administered by the St. Regis Mohawk Tribal Council in the United States. However, no one was present to pick them up. The tribal police discovered three of them and contacted the U.S. Border Patrol. The fourth was discovered in a motel in Massena, New York.

What do you think about it? Do let us know in the comments.

For more trending stories, follow us on Telegram.