Police arrest human smuggler near Emerson

RCMP Integrated Border Enforcement Team (IBET) in Manitoba made several arrests after human smuggling was found east of Emerson.

Police became aware that there were people crossing the border illegally on Sept. 28 at about 10:35 p.m. The smugglers were seven kilometres east of Emerson near Road 18 East.

Officers from the IBET and from the Morris, Emerson, and St Pierre detachments immediately patrolled the area and found an SUV. Inside, there was luggage and people ranging in age from 30 to 53 years old. Six people were arrested under the Customs Act and the driver was arrested for human smuggling. All were taken to the Emersen RCMP detachment with the six passengers later turned over to Canadian Border Services Agency for processing.

Of the six, one man was from the Republic of Sudan, two men and one woman were from the Republic of Chad, one man was from Mauritania, and one man was identified as a Permanent Resident of Canada.

Police arrested 42-year-old Semere Haile from Winnipeg and charged him with human smuggling contrary to section 117 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. He was released at the direction of Public Prosecution Service of Canada on several conditions and attended Winnipeg Provincial Court on Oct. 7.

“Crossing the Canada and United States border between the ports of entry is not only an illegal act, but a dangerous one,” said Sgt. Lance Goldau, head of IBET in Manitoba. “For everyone’s safety, we continue to work closely with our United States counterparts to stop incursions at the border.”

Emerson border meet-up

Manitoba RCMP officers and agents from United States Border Patrol met recently first in Pembina, North Dakota and then at Emerson to talk about border safety and showcase some of the equipment used in preventing illegal border crossings.

In Manitoba, year-to-date in 2024, there have been 85 apprehensions of illegal northbound crossers. The originating countries of those apprehended include the Republic of Chad, the Republic of Sudan, Guinea, Iraq, Mauritania, Congo, Yemen, Somalia, Saint Helena, Eretria, Cuba, Morocco, Mali, and Brazil. In 2023, there were 75 apprehensions of illegal crossers into Manitoba. Many of the illegal migrants into Canada come to make a refugee claim.

“These smugglers are not in the business because they care about the migrants,” said Goldau. “The smugglers are looking at the bottom line – getting as much money as they can with as little work as possible.”

The smugglers usually drop off the migrants far from the port of entry and are given vague direction to connect with someone waiting for them on the other side.

“Some individuals who are illegally crossing the border between Manitoba, North Dakota and Minnesota are not aware of the extreme weather conditions and geography they may encounter,” said Goldau. “This lack of understanding has led to severe injury and death. They have to realize, too, that in extreme weather, even with all of our equipment, chances of a rescue are remote.”

In January 2022, Jagdish and Vaishaliben Patel, and their two children died in Emerson 12 meters away from the United States border. The family were killed by the cold, which reached -35C. They were attempting to emigrate from India to the US, via Canada.

Both the RCMP and the Grand Forks Sector of the U.S. Border Patrol implore any would-be crossers to enter the country legally.

“(The) Grand Forks Sector, along with our partners at the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, are committed to educating the public about the dangers of crossing the border illegally; one death is too many,” said Chief Patrol Agent Scott Garrett.