Indian-Origin Man Pleads Guilty To Smuggling Indians To US

A 40-year-old Indian-origin man, extradited from Canada to the United States, has pleaded guilty to smuggling Indians to the US between March 2020 to March 2021, officials here said.

Simranjit Singh was taken into custody on June 28, 2022, in Ontario, and was extradited from Canada to the US on March 30, 2023, United States Attorney's Office Northern District of New York said in a press release.

"In pleading guilty, Singh admitted that from at least March of 2020 through March of 2021, he facilitated the smuggling of numerous Indian nationals from Canada into the United States, via Cornwall Island and the Akwesasne Mohawk Indian Reservation in the St Lawrence River region, for profit," the release said on Saturday.

Singh's sentencing is scheduled for December 28.

Singh faces a mandatory term of five years in prison and up to 15 years in prison, a fine of up to USD 250,000, and a term of supervised release of up to three years, the release said.

Singh will be subject to deportation following the conclusion of his sentence, it said.

According to documents released in April, some migrants who say their entry into the US was facilitated by Singh told American law enforcement that he charged them between USD 5,000 and USD 35,000, online portal ctvnews.ca reported.

He was a resident of Brampton in Canada, the report said

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