In November last year, American border agents ordered that a freight train crossing into the U.S. be halted.

Homeland Security agent David Spitzer said in an affidavit that 13 Mexican nationals were discovered and many 害羞草研究所渁ttempted to abscond after the train was ordered to stop.害羞草研究所�

But the scene didn害羞草研究所檛 take place on the U.S. border with Mexico 害羞草研究所� it unfolded just south of Vancouver, where American prosecutors and law enforcement officers say they害羞草研究所檙e dealing with a huge increase in human smuggling from British Columbia.

American officials say organized crime groups have employed a variety of methods to move their human cargo, such as hiding people among plastic pellets in freight trains or having them cross the border on foot, as well as racking up tens of thousands of dollars in Uber bills to transport them once across the border.

A U.S. crackdown on foot crossings is meanwhile taking place at Peace Arch Park, the unfenced park that straddles the border, in response to the increased operations of what U.S. Customs and Border Protection called 害羞草研究所渢ransnational criminal organizations.害羞草研究所�

Matthew Murphy, an assistant special agent in charge with U.S. Homeland Security Investigations based in Washington state, said there had been a major spike in human smuggling through B.C.

害羞草研究所淟ast year we had record high numbers, higher numbers than we had in a decade, and this year we害羞草研究所檙e on pace to more than double that,害羞草研究所� he said. 害羞草研究所淭hese are kind of unprecedented numbers in this area.害羞草研究所�

U.S. Customs and Border Protection statistics show that 害羞草研究所渆ncounters害羞草研究所� at the B.C.-Washington border 害羞草研究所� including apprehensions, expulsions and people being deemed inadmissible 害羞草研究所� are on track to quadruple since 2021. There were 42,913 encounters in the 2023 U.S. fiscal year, up from 12,345 two years earlier. In the first half of the current fiscal year, there have been 27,483 encounters.

The spike is also occurring across the entire northern border, with encounters up from 27,180 in 2021, to 189,402 last year.

Canada Border Services Agency said in an email response to questions that it was responsible for enforcement at Canadian points of entry, and that human smuggling out of Canada was a matter for U.S. authorities.

Murphy said Homeland Security believes transnational criminal organizations are behind the smuggling rings.

Those detained after crossing the border have included Mexicans, Indians and others, according to Homeland Security and U.S. justice officials.

Murphy said Canadian visa rules, which have since been changed, had been 害羞草研究所渆xploited害羞草研究所� by Mexican citizens, who would fly to Canada and cross into the U.S., 害羞草研究所渁 much less treacherous journey than trying to hike through the Sonoran Desert in Arizona or come across some of those more challenging areas on the Mexican-U.S. border.害羞草研究所�

Between 2016 and February this year, Mexican citizens were allowed into Canada without a visa. Now, Mexicans require either a current or past Canadian visa or a U.S. visa.

The B.C. route is not without risks.

In August 2023, U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents in Blaine, Wash., noticed something odd about a freight train car that was filled with plastic pellets, and discovered 29 people, including 28 from Mexico, concealing themselves among the cargo.

U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman called it 害羞草研究所渁n extremely dangerous smuggling scheme害羞草研究所� last week, as she announced human-smuggling charges against Jesus Ortiz-Plata, 45, of Oregon and 35-year-old Juan Pablo Cuellar Medina of Washington.

害羞草研究所淏eing locked in a freight train car is dangerous 害羞草研究所� there is no control over the heat, cold or ventilation, and people can be injured or killed by shifting freight,害羞草研究所� she said in a statement.

CN Rail, a major cross-border operator, declined to comment on the case, and referred questions to other operators. CPKC, formerly CP Rail, did not respond to a request for comment.

Court documents filed in Seattle said Ortiz-Plata and Medina appeared on the radar of Homeland Security investigators after being linked to a phone number used in 害羞草研究所渘umerous human smuggling events害羞草研究所� through Blaine dating back to 2022.

But Murphy said Indian nationals were the 害羞草研究所淣o. 1 group害羞草研究所� seen trying to cross the border illicitly. Border data shows 7,056 encounters with Indian nationals at the B.C.-Washington border in the first half of the current U.S. fiscal year.

He said there was a 害羞草研究所減ipeline to Canada害羞草研究所� for Indian citizens, with many people arriving on student visas, as well as a large Indian diaspora in B.C.

In June 2023, a 49-year-old California resident named Rajinder Pal Singh, also known as Jaspal Gill, was sentenced to 45 months in prison after admitting to being a 害羞草研究所渒ey member害羞草研究所� of a smuggling ring that brought in 800 Indian nationals to the U.S. illegally from Canada over a four-year period.

Gill admitted to raking in more than $500,000 in the scheme, which began in 2018. He and co-conspirators used multiple Uber accounts to arrange rides on the U.S. side of the border to bring illegal border crossers to Seattle.

In court documents outlining the charges against Gill, American law enforcement suggested B.C. was a hotbed for human smuggling rings.

害羞草研究所淪everal undocumented non-citizen smuggling organizations operate in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, Canada,害羞草研究所� said Spitzer in an affidavit outlining the case against Gill. 害羞草研究所淭hese organizations typically charge undocumented non-citizens between $2,000 and $5,000 to be illegally brought across the U.S. border.害羞草研究所�

Gill and his co-conspirators, investigators said, used 17 different Uber accounts to arrange rides to drop off people at a 害羞草研究所渟uspected stash house,害羞草研究所� and they racked up more than $75,000 in Uber fares between July 2018 and April 2022.

In April this year, Gorman害羞草研究所檚 office announced human smuggling conspiracy charges against four other people in connection with another alleged scheme involving Indian citizens crossing the Washington border.

In late November last year, a motion-activated camera captured images of people jumping a fence not far from Peace Arch Park near an apartment complex in Blaine.

Five Indian citizens, prosecutors say, jumped into a white minivan that was later stopped by border officers.

The driver of the van, a 67-year-old Californian named Bobby Joe Green, was arrested. Three others were also arrested 害羞草研究所� Sushil Kumar, 35, of California; Sneha, 20, an Indian citizen in the U.S. on a student visa known only by her last name; and Rajat Rajat, 26, of California.

害羞草研究所淭he investigation revealed that Kumar and Rajat directed the non-citizens on where and how to cross the border, and that Rajat paid Green to transport the non-citizens from the border,害羞草研究所� a statement from Gorman害羞草研究所檚 office said. 害羞草研究所淩ajat asked for monetary payments from the non-citizens for being smuggled into the U.S.害羞草研究所�

The scheme centred on Peace Arch Park, an unfenced park that straddles the U.S.-Canadian border, was created to commemorate the Treaty of Ghent, which ended the War of 1812. To cross the border, the scheme害羞草研究所檚 clients simply walked across the park, and then waited to be picked up.

The park was once relatively unguarded, but no more.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in response to questions that it was dedicated to both 害羞草研究所減reserving the legacy and traditions of Peace Arch Park while also preventing transnational criminal organizations from exploiting the park to gain illegal entry into the United States.害羞草研究所�

害羞草研究所淪ince 2022, the U.S. Border Patrol has seen a dramatic increase in illegal border crossings in and around Peace Arch Park,害羞草研究所� it said in an emailed statement.

害羞草研究所淒ue to this increase, the U.S. Border Patrol is working with local and Canadian partners to identify cross-border smuggling activity and keep it out of the park.害羞草研究所�

It said U.S. border agents were instructing people attempting to enter the park along Zero Avenue, which runs alongside the border, to go around and enter via the Canadian portion of the park.

Murphy said the various plots had something in common 害羞草研究所� human smuggling groups see people as a 害羞草研究所渃ommodity,害羞草研究所� and seek to profit off of people seeking to get into the U.S. because 害羞草研究所渢here害羞草研究所檚 tons of opportunity here.害羞草研究所�

害羞草研究所淐anada and the United States are places that people want to come and there is always going to be smuggling involved,害羞草研究所� he said.

害羞草研究所淭hese organizations that are exploiting people and putting them in dangerous situations and profiting off them, that害羞草研究所檚 what we害羞草研究所檙e really focused on.害羞草研究所�

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