New York:
Six Indian nationals, ages 19-21, were arrested by US border authorities after being apprehended on a sinking boat during a failed attempt to be smuggled into America from Canada.
The US Customs and Border Protection said in a statement Thursday that with the help of the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribal Police Department, the Akwesasne Mohawk Police Service and the Hogansburg-Akwesasne Volunteer Fire Department (HAVFD), US Border Patrol agents from the Massena Border Patrol Station arrested seven people early Thursday morning in connection with a failed smuggling attempt.
Six of the subjects, all between the ages of 19 and 21, are citizens of India and have been charged with improper entry by aliens in violation of US law. The seventh person, a US citizen, was charged with smuggling aliens, which is a felony and carries a fine and a jail term of up to 10 years for each violation.
Last week, suspicious activity was reported to the Akwesasne Mohawk Police Service, which notified the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribal Police Department of a multi-person boat traveling from Canada near Ontario to the United States.
The Saint Regis Mohawk Tribal Police Department responded and saw the ship take water and sink in the Saint Regis River in Akwesasne. The Border Patrol officers and the HAVFD answered the call for assistance and arrived on the scene to find the reported vessel almost completely submerged.
One of the subjects had managed to get out of the sinking boat and go to the shoreline. The HAVFD deployed a boat and was able to salvage the other six “distressed subjects”. Authorities said there were no life jackets or other safety equipment on board the sinking boat.
Because the water temperature was just above freezing, all seven people on the boat were assessed and treated for hypothermia by medical professionals. After their release, they were arrested by Border Patrol agents and transported to the Border Patrol Station for processing.
Police Chief Matthew Rourke of the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribal Police Department. The cooperation between law enforcement and rescue services has prevented what could have been a “horrific tragedy”.
“I emphasize that people smuggling is illegal and poses a great danger to the Akwesasne community. We don’t know the intentions or vaccination status of smuggled individuals, but more importantly, the time and resources spent on a rescue needlessly endanger the lives of our first responders and our already tense emergency services,” he said.
Wade Laughman warned the situation could have been “catastrophic” and said people smuggling is not only a crime, but also extremely dangerous. Smugglers don’t care about safety or human lives; they only care about profit.” The Swanton Sector is responsible for securing the land border between the ports of entry in Vermont, New Hampshire, and northeastern New York.
In January this year, a family of four Indians – Jagdish Baldevbhai Patel, 39, Vaishaliben Patel, 37, Vihangi Patel, 11, and Dharmik Patel, 3 – were found dead near Emerson, Manitoba, about 40 feet from the border between Canada and the US.
The family attempted to cross from Canada to the US on foot. Seven other Indian nationals, who had entered the US illegally around the same time the Patel family was found dead, were arrested near the US-Canada border.