Manitoba RCMP have charged a Calgary man with human smuggling involving seven male foreign nationals from the Republic of Chad.United States Border Patrol (USBP) informed RCMP of a group walking northbound along a rail line headed toward the Canadian border at 3:45 a.m. on January 27 near the Emerson Port of Entry, 96 kilometres south of Winnipeg. “The individuals were noted to be wearing proper winter clothing and likely to cross into Canada within the hour,” said RCMP in a press release Monday.The Integrated Border Enforcement Team (IBET) intercepted a rental vehicle near Dominion City, 20 kilometres from the Canada-US border.In it were the driver and seven passengers aged 27 to 49 who were confirmed to be from the African republic.The driver, Calgary’s Saleh Youssouf, 49, was arrested for human smuggling and charged under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA).He appeared in court in Winnipeg on January 29.The African nationals were arrested under the Customs Act and turned over to immigration officers with Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) at Emerson. The investigation continues.Emerson is the same border crossing where a family of four, including a baby, was found frozen to death in a field in January 2022 in a human smuggling operation.Jagdish Baldevbhai Patel, 39, Vaishaliben Jagdishkumar Patel, 37, and their children, Vihangi Jagdishkumar, 11, and Dharmik Jagdishkumar Patel, 3, died of exposure in -35-degree weather.The foreign nationals from India were attempting to walk across the border from Canada into the US. Their bodies were found 10 kilometers east of Emerson only a dozen metres from the border.Florida’s 47-year-old Steve Shand was charged with human smuggling.USBP had alerted IBET to a van they stopped, driven by Shand, with two passengers determined to be foreign nationals from India.One person had a backpack containing children’s clothes, a diaper, medication, and toys.RCMP searched the area and discovered the family.
Manitoba RCMP have charged a Calgary man with human smuggling involving seven male foreign nationals from the Republic of Chad.United States Border Patrol (USBP) informed RCMP of a group walking northbound along a rail line headed toward the Canadian border at 3:45 a.m. on January 27 near the Emerson Port of Entry, 96 kilometres south of Winnipeg. “The individuals were noted to be wearing proper winter clothing and likely to cross into Canada within the hour,” said RCMP in a press release Monday.The Integrated Border Enforcement Team (IBET) intercepted a rental vehicle near Dominion City, 20 kilometres from the Canada-US border.In it were the driver and seven passengers aged 27 to 49 who were confirmed to be from the African republic.The driver, Calgary’s Saleh Youssouf, 49, was arrested for human smuggling and charged under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA).He appeared in court in Winnipeg on January 29.The African nationals were arrested under the Customs Act and turned over to immigration officers with Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) at Emerson. The investigation continues.Emerson is the same border crossing where a family of four, including a baby, was found frozen to death in a field in January 2022 in a human smuggling operation.Jagdish Baldevbhai Patel, 39, Vaishaliben Jagdishkumar Patel, 37, and their children, Vihangi Jagdishkumar, 11, and Dharmik Jagdishkumar Patel, 3, died of exposure in -35-degree weather.The foreign nationals from India were attempting to walk across the border from Canada into the US. Their bodies were found 10 kilometers east of Emerson only a dozen metres from the border.Florida’s 47-year-old Steve Shand was charged with human smuggling.USBP had alerted IBET to a van they stopped, driven by Shand, with two passengers determined to be foreign nationals from India.One person had a backpack containing children’s clothes, a diaper, medication, and toys.RCMP searched the area and discovered the family.
