Calgary man charged with human smuggling after car stopped near border – PortageOnline.com

A man from Calgary has been arrested for human smuggling after a group of foreign nationals were spotted near Emerson.

At approximately 3:45 a.m. on January 27, the Manitoba RCMP Integrated Border Enforcement Team (IBET) received information from the United States Border Patrol (USBP) about an unknown group of people traveling north along the railroad tracks towards the Canadian border near Emerson.

It was noted that people were wearing proper winter clothing and could cross into Canada within an hour.

IBET officers arrived in the area and stopped the vehicle, which was registered to a rental car company, located at the intersection of PR 201 and PR 200 near Dominion City.

The driver and seven men (ages 49, 44, 37, 34, 33, 28 and 27) who were confirmed to be foreign nationals of the Republic of Chad were in the vehicle.

The driver, Saleh Yusuf, a 49-year-old man from Calgary, was arrested on charges of human smuggling under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) and was arrested at a January 29 court appearance in Winnipeg.

The other seven were arrested under the Customs Act and handed over to Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) immigration officers at the Emerson Port of Entry.

The RCMP is continuing to investigate along with the CBSA.