RCMP detain 8 people near Manitoba border crossing, human smuggling charges laid

RCMP officials say eight people have been detained after they walked over the Canada-U.S. border illegally.

Tara Seel, a media relations officer with the RCMP, said on Aug. 22, United States Border Patrol notified Mounties that a group walking from America into Canada was picked up by a man in a rental vehicle.

It all went down just west of the Gretna Canada Border Services Agency entry.

“Police conducted a traffic stop on that vehicle and eight people were arrested under the Customs Act, and the driver was also arrested. All the individuals were taken to the Emerson RCMP detachment,” Seel said.

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A 35-year-old Somalian man, living in Winnipeg, was charged with human smuggling and released on bail with a court date in October.

Six men and two women from Chad, Sudan and Guinea between the ages of 19 and 48 years old are being held under the Customs Act, officers said.

Investigators are still looking into the situation.