Human Smuggling Ring Smashed

A joint Canadian-U.S. police operation arrested 15 people for smuggling illegal immigrants from South Asia through Canada to the United States, police said Monday.

The "large-scale" smuggling schemes involved people with forged passports and posing as large tour groups who entered Canada in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver, British Columbia, then made their way into the United States, said Inspector Steve Martin of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

Charges include membership in a criminal organization and conspiracy to violate U.S. immigration laws.

"Information gathered in our investigation revealed a core group of people smugglers based in the Toronto area was responsible for the vast majority of South Asia migrants being smuggled into Canada and then illegally transported across the border into the United States," Martin told a news conference.

Martin said illegal aliens arrived in Canada and were taken to safe houses, motels or hotels in the Toronto area. Those that wished to continue into the United States were hidden in transport trucks or automobile trunks, he said.

The crossing points were at Windsor, Niagara Falls and Fort Erie, Ontario, with some people transported by boat across the Niagara and St. Clair rivers, Martin said.

Police said the illegal migrants included men, women, young families and the elderly from India and Pakistan who paid up to $40,000 each to be smuggled into North America.