A recent human smuggling bust in Cornwall, Ontario, highlights the town's long history as a hub for illegal activity. Located near the US border and Mohawk territories, Cornwall's geography allows for easy movement across borders, making it a prime location for smugglers. Police and authorities are working to address the issue as the spotlight intensifies on Canada's role in preventing human trafficking.
Matt Eamer, a former OPP detective sergeant who spent years investigating smuggling in Cornwall , Ont.. calls the industrial town a ' 'smuggler’s paradise.'On a frigid Tuesday this month, police in Cornwall , Ont., stopped a van trying to cross a bridge over the St. Lawrence River headed toward Mohawk territory. The driver and passenger, two men in their 50s, said they were going home to Akwesasne, the First Nations reserve on the other side of the water.
“This has always been a smuggler’s paradise. People are just another commodity for them,” said Matt Eamer, a retired OPP detective who spent years investigating smuggling in the Cornwall area. All the agencies involved in the case seemed to be keenly aware of the new political focus being heaped on human smuggling into the U.S. and Canada’s role in preventing it. OPP Commissioner Thomas Carrique said “maintaining the integrity of our borders is of utmost importance.” Jag Johnston, regional director of the Canada Border Services Agency, said investigators were committed to ensuring “the integrity of our immigration system.
Without the help of middlemen from Akwesasne, who know the reserve’s waterways, empty roads and safe houses, these smuggling rings can’t work, he said. Canadian and U.S. law enforcement won’t enter Mohawk territory in pursuit of a suspected smuggler, and there are streets on the reserve that cross over the international boundary with no indication you’re in another country. Mr.
Crossing the river in winter, with its fast-moving current and icy conditions, is also incredibly dangerous. In March 2023, eight migrants drowned here while trying to enter illegally into the U.S. from Canada. The body of a ninth person, 30-year-old Casey Oakes, an Akwesasne man believed to be piloting the boat carrying the migrants, was found in the water four months later., New York State, Vermont and New Hampshire. According to U.S.
HUMAN SMUGGLING CORNWALL CANADA BORDER SECURITY MIGRATION
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