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Ontario man smuggled people from India to U.S., through Calgary, Toronto, Montreal – CBC.ca

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An Indian national from Brampton, Ont., pleaded guilty in a U.S. federal court on Friday to human smuggling as part of a network that potentially moved hundreds of people from India across the Canada-U.S. border.

Simranjit (Shally) Singh, 41, pleaded guilty to six counts of alien smuggling and three counts of conspiracy to commit alien smuggling during an appearance in Albany, N.Y., before Judge Mae A. D’Agostino. 

Singh appeared in a short-sleeved orange jumpsuit with “ACCF Inmate” written on the back, which stands for Albany County Correctional Facility. He wore black-rimmed glasses, with salt and pepper stubble spread down his cheeks and chin. There was a small tattoo behind his left ear and another scrawled down his left forearm. 

None of Singh’s family or friends appeared at the hearing.

Singh’s plea agreement included an admission that he arranged to smuggle people into the U.S. from India by flying them to Calgary, Toronto and Montreal, before transporting them to Cornwall, Ont. Singh then moved the Indian nationals by boat across the St. Lawrence River through Akwesasne, a Haudenosaunee community that straddles the Canada-U.S. border and sits about 120 kilometres west of Montreal.

U.S. authorities said Singh bragged he smuggled more than 1,000 people into the U.S. from Canada.

The case against Singh was based on evidence gathered through surveillance, Facebook messages and human sources related to four failed smuggling attempts across the St. Lawrence River between March 2020 and April 2022, according to court records. 

Singh acted as a broker, charging $5,000 to $35,000 per person to smuggle mainly Indian nationals into the U.S. He then paid people in Akwesasne between $2,000 to $3,000 per person to take them across the river through the community’s territory.

Crews search for bodies on the St. Lawrence River in Akwesasne on March 31, 2023, following a fatal smuggling attempt that left eight people dead. (Christinne Muschi/Reuters)

Singh’s indictment is not connected to the deaths of eight suspected migrants — including four Indian citizens — on the St. Lawrence in March

However, there are similarities in Singh’s routes and tactics, and those used by the network behind the fatal human smuggling attempt, which also left a Romanian family of four dead.

The plea agreement included the admission that Singh, using locals, loaded Indian nationals on boats which 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 taken to nearby New York state motels.

This was the same route followed by the Indian and Romanian families who died in March.

A cog in a bigger network

After the hearing, Singh’s lawyer, Lee Kindlon, told CBC News that his client was likely exaggerating when he claimed he smuggled 1,000 people over the border. Kindlon said Singh was just a cog in a much bigger network. 

“Hopefully through sentencing, we can show that his role in this larger enterprise was actually quite small,” said Kindlon, with the Albany-based Kindlon Law Firm.

“I’m not sure how much he entirely knows about the larger network. Everyone answers to somebody else, but who is on top of the food chain, I am not sure he knew or understood.” 

Defence lawyer Lee Kindlon says his client, Simranjit Singh, was just a cog in a much larger network. (Jorge Barrera/CBC)

Singh was also suffering from depression and anxiety in jail, Kindlon said.

Singh’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for Dec. 28, 2023. He faces a potential prison sentence ranging from five to 15 years and deportation to India.

“He has always been regretful about getting carried away in this whole thing,” said Kindlon. “Saying guilty here is the first step toward redemption and ultimately acceptance of punishment and responsibility.”

Evidence gathered by U.S. authorities shows Singh exploited vulnerable Akwesasne members facing addiction and poverty as part of his operation. 

Singh, who was facing deportation from Canada when he was arrested and extradited, originally arrived in Montreal from India in 2010 with his then-wife and one child, and filed refugee claims. His mother then arrived with his other child and also filed refugee claims. All five were ultimately rejected, according to court records.

Canadian authorities could not return them to India because the Indian Consulate refused to provide travel documents. 

Singh attempted to stay in Canada after marrying a second wife, who sponsored him. That application was pending at the time of his arrest in the summer of 2022.

Smuggled during COVID-19 outbreak

The U.S. case against Singh grew from his failed attempt to smuggle three Indian nationals into the U.S. in March 2020, shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic triggered a shutdown of the border. 

In this instance, he used a single mother of two from Akwesasne dealing with severe trauma and facing care-related costs for one of her children, who required extensive hospitalization, according to court records. 

The woman is said to have picked up three Indian nationals after they crossed the St. Lawrence River, driving them to a motel over the eastern border of Akwesasne, which was under watch by U.S. Border Patrol. 

A sunrise over the St. Lawrence River, shown from the eastern tip of Cornwall Island, Akwesasne, on April 3, 2022. (Jorge Barrera/CBC)

Agents stopped her vehicle the next day, after she returned and picked up the three Indian nationals, who tried running from the traffic stop. The woman also tried to flee, eventually crashing into four Border Patrol vehicles. 

In another case in late winter 2021, a family in India allegedly paid Singh thousands of dollars to smuggle a family member into the U.S. Singh drove the individual to a motel in Cornwall, Ont.

“Singh bragged about smuggling over 1,000 people and that [the Indian national] had nothing to worry about,” according to U.S. records.

The Indian national boarded a boat on March 4 with three other migrants, and landed on a U.S. portion of Akwesasne governed by the St. Regis Mohawk Tribal Council. But no one was there to pick them up.

The tribal police found three of them and called U.S. Border Patrol. The fourth was found at a motel in Massena, N.Y.

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RCMP end latest N.B. search regarding teenage girl who went missing in 2021

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BATHURST, N.B. – RCMP in New Brunswick say a weekend ground search for evidence related to the disappearance of a teenage girl in 2021 didn’t reveal any new information.

In an emailed statement, the RCMP said 20 people participated in the search for evidence in the case of Madison Roy-Boudreau of Bathurst.

The release said the search occurred in the Middle River area, just south of the girl’s hometown.

Police have said the 14-year-old’s disappearance is being treated as a homicide investigation.

The RCMP said the search “did not reveal any new information regarding the circumstances of her disappearance.”

There are no plans for another search until police receive a tip or a lead pointing to a new search area.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.



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Man Tasered after trespassing in Victoria school, forcing lockdown

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VICTORIA – A middle school in Victoria was forced into a lockdown after a man entered the building without permission, and police say they had to use a stun gun to make an arrest.

Victoria police say officers received multiple calls around noon on Monday of an unknown male entering Central Middle School, leading staff to set off emergency procedures that put the building under lockdown.

Police say its emergency response team arrived within minutes and found the suspect, who “appeared to be in a drug-induced state,” in the school’s library.

A statement from police says the suspect resisted arrest, and officers had to use a Taser to subdue the man.

He’s being held by police and has been assessed by emergency medical staff.

Police say the man was not armed and there were no continuing safety concerns for students and staff following the arrest.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.



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B.C. Greens’ ex- leader Weaver thinks minority deal with NDP less likely than in 2017

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VANCOUVER – Former B.C. Green leader Andrew Weaver knows what it’s like to form a minority government with the NDP, but says such a deal to create the province’s next administration is less likely this time than seven years ago.

Weaver struck a power-sharing agreement that resulted in John Horgan’s NDP minority government in 2017, but said in an interview Monday there is now more animosity between the two parties.

Neither the NDP nor the B.C. Conservatives secured a majority in Saturday’s election, raising the prospect of a minority NDP government if Leader David Eby can get the support of two Green legislators.

Manual recounts in two ridings could also play an important role in the outcome, which will not be known for about a week.

Weaver, who is no longer a member of the Greens, endorsed a Conservative candidate in his home riding.

He said Eby would be in a better position to negotiate if Furstenau, who lost her seat, stepped aside as party leader.

“I think Mr. Eby would be able to have fresh discussions with fresh new faces around the table, (after) four years of political sniping … between Sonia and the NDP in the B.C. legislature,” he said.

He said Furstenau’s loss put the two elected Greens in an awkward position because parties “need the leader in the legislature.”

Furstenau could resign as leader or one of the elected Greens could step down and let her run in a byelection in their riding, he said.

“They need to resolve that issue sooner rather than later,” he said.

The Green victories went to Rob Botterell in Saanich North and the Islands and Jeremy Valeriote in West Vancouver-Sea to Sky.

Neither Botterell nor Valeriote have held seats in the legislature before, Weaver noted.

“It’s not like in 2017 when, you know, I had been in the (legislature) for four years already,” Weaver said, adding that “the learning curve is steep.”

Sanjay Jeram, chair of undergraduate studies in political science at Simon Fraser University, said he doesn’t think it’ll be an “easygoing relationship between (the NDP and Greens) this time around.”

“I don’t know if Eby and Furstenau have the same relationship — or the potential to have the same relationship — as Horgan and Weaver did,” he said. “I think their demands will be a little more strict and it’ll be a little more of a cold alliance than it was in 2017 if they do form an alliance.”

Horgan and Weaver shook hands on a confidence-and-supply agreement before attending a rugby match, where they were spotted sitting together before the deal became public knowledge.

Eby said in his election-night speech that he had already reached out to Furstenau and suggested common “progressive values” between their parties.

Furstenau said in her concession speech that her party was poised to play a “pivotal role” in the legislature.

Botterell said in an election-night interview that he was “totally supportive of Sonia” and he would “do everything I can to support her and the path forward that she chooses to take because that’s her decision.”

The Green Party of Canada issued a news release Monday, congratulating the candidates on their victories, noting Valeriote’s win is the first time that a Green MLA has been elected outside of Vancouver Island.

“Now, like all British Columbians we await the final seat count to know which party will have the best chance to form government. Let’s hope that the Green caucus has a pivotal role,” the release said, echoing Furstenau’s turn of phrase.

The final results of the election won’t be known until at least next week.

Elections BC says manual recounts will be held on Oct. 26 to 28 in two ridings where NDP candidates led B.C. Conservatives by fewer than 100 votes after the initial count ended on Sunday.

The outcomes in Surrey City Centre and Juan de Fuca-Malahat could determine who forms government.

The election’s initial results have the NDP elected or leading in 46 ridings, and the B.C. Conservatives in 45, both short of the 47 majority mark in B.C.’s 93-seat legislature.

If the Conservatives win both of the recount ridings and win all other ridings where they lead, Rustad will win with a one-seat majority.

If the NDP holds onto at least one of the ridings where there are recounts, wins the other races it leads, and strikes a deal with the Greens, they would have enough numbers to form a minority government.

But another election could also be on the cards, since the winner will have to nominate a Speaker, reducing the government’s numbers in the legislature by one vote.

Elections BC says it will also be counting about 49,000 absentee and mail-in ballots from Oct. 26 to 28.

The NDP went into the election with 55 ridings, representing a comfortable majority in what was then an 87-seat legislature.

Jeram, with Simon Fraser University, said though the counts aren’t finalized, the Conservatives were the big winners in the election.

“They weren’t really a not much of a formal party until not that long ago, and to go from two per cent of the vote to winning 45 or more seats in the B.C. provincial election is just incredible,” he said in an interview Monday.

Jeram said people had expected Eby to call an election after he took over from John Horgan in 2022, and if he had, he doesn’t think there would have been the same result.

He said the B.C. Conservative’s popularity grew as a result of the decision of the BC Liberals to rebrand as BC United and later drop out.

“Had Eby called an election before that really shook out, and maybe especially before (Pierre) Poilievre, kind of really had the wind in his sails and started to grow, I think he could have won the majority for sure.”

He said he wasn’t surprised by the results of the election, saying polls were fairly accurate.

“Ultimately, it really was a result that we saw coming for a while, since the moment that BC United withdrew and put their support behind the conservatives, I think this was the outcome that was expected.”

— With files from Darryl Greer

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.



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