An Indian man accused of smuggling 1000 people has been extradited to the US to face charges. He was already facing deportation from Canada at the time of his arrest. Federal prosecutors in the United States say Simranjit (Shally) Singh living in Canada was paid thousands of dollars to smuggle other Indian nationals into the United States through the Akwesasne Mohawk reserve. “Singh has successfully moved illegal aliens northbound into Canada and southbound into the United States using the geographic vulnerabilities of the AMIR [Akwesasne Mohawk Indian Reservation]. Singh has been living in Canada illegally and has been able to elude law enforcement detection,” according to a request for provision arrest filed in a Brampton court by the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Singh, 40, appeared in an Albany, N.Y., court Friday to face six counts of alien smuggling for profit and three counts of conspiracy to commit alien smuggling for profit, a day after he was extradited from Canada.

By DESIBUZZCanada Staff With News Files

NEW YORK – An Indian man accused of smuggling 1000 people has been extradited to the US to face charges. He was already facing deportation from Canada at the time of his arrest.

Federal prosecutors in the United States say Simranjit (Shally) Singh living in Canada was paid thousands of dollars to smuggle other Indian nationals into the United States through the Akwesasne Mohawk reserve.

“Singh has successfully moved illegal aliens northbound into Canada and southbound into the United States using the geographic vulnerabilities of the AMIR [Akwesasne Mohawk Indian Reservation]. Singh has been living in Canada illegally and has been able to elude law enforcement detection,” according to a request for provision arrest filed in a Brampton court by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Singh, 40, appeared in an Albany, N.Y., court Friday to face six counts of alien smuggling for profit and three counts of conspiracy to commit alien smuggling for profit, a day after he was extradited from Canada.

The case is not connected to the deaths last week of eight people, including four Indians, who were attempting to illegally cross into the United States from Canada through Akwesasne.

But it sheds light on alleged human smuggling through the territory that straddles the Canada-U.S. border, where police say they have intercepted 80 people — mostly Indians and Romanians — trying to enter the United States illegally since January.

According to court documents filed in Ontario as part of the extradition process, one migrant who was arrested by U.S. authorities reported paying Singh $35,000 to bring him across the border.

Singh had been living in Canada since December 2010 but was subject to a removal order after his refugee claim was refused.

At the request of the United States, Singh was taken into custody on June 28, 2022, in Ontario, Canada.  Singh was extradited from Canada to the United States on March 30, 2023.  

A June 2022 indictment charges Singh with three counts of conspiracy to commit alien smuggling for profit and six additional counts of alien smuggling for profit, all of which allege his involvement and facilitation of the smuggling of Indian nationals from Canada into the United States, via Cornwall Island and the Akwesasne Mohawk Indian Reservation in the St. Lawrence River region, from at least March 2020 through March 2021. 

Singh was arraigned on March 31, in Albany, before United States Magistrate Judge Daniel J. Stewart; he is detained pending a detention hearing scheduled for April 7.

If convicted on all charges, Singh faces at least 5 years and up to 15 years in prison, as well as at least 3 years of post-imprisonment supervised release.  A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, and other factors. 

This case is being investigated by United States Border Patrol, Homeland Security Investigations, the Ontario Provincial Police, the Canadian Border Services Agency, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Stitt is prosecuting this case. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided substantial assistance in securing the arrest and extradition of Singh.

New documents give inside look at how an Ontario man allegedly smuggled up to 1,000 people across U.S. border

The accusations against Singh offer a rare look at how authorities say human smuggling networks operate, and the steep prices they charge.

Some migrants told American law enforcement Singh charged between $5,000 and $35,000, the documents suggest, describing four “smuggling events”.

In one event in March 2020, a person referred to as “CW-1” dropped three Indian citizens at the Great View Motel in New York, according to a request for provisional arrest filed in Brampton, reported CTV News.

“I’m dropping them off at a safe space,” CW-1 said in a text at 8:50 pm. “Ok they cross river,” Singh responded. “Yes,” CW-1 replied. A video reveals CW-1’s car pulling up to the motel and dropping the three off.

Then, “CW-1 travelled to Cornwall to meet Singh, bring him bottles of liquor, and collect $4,000 which represented CW-1’s pay,” the request says.

But CW-1 was concerned the hotel had been rented in her own name, and she returned to pick up the migrants. Border Patrol Agents saw her leaving the hotel and after a high-speed chase, arrested all four in Fort Covington, New York.

In another case in March 2021 also using the Akwesasne territory as a corridor, one migrant told law enforcement that “Singh bragged about smuggling over one thousand people and that CW-3 had nothing to worry about.”

Singh himself lost a refugee claim in Canada but couldn’t be deported without an Indian passport. His lawyers declined to comment to CTV News. Singh did not fight the extradition, though observers say fighting extradition to the U.S. can often be a tough battle.

“The bar is low. Even if a person is extradited, that doesn’t mean they are guilty. It just means that the requesting state has managed to meet that extremely low hurdle,” extradition lawyer James Bray told CTV News.

Singh was indicted in 2022 and was extradited to the U.S. last week. If convicted, he could be sentenced to up to 15 years in prison, the U.S. Attorney’s office said in a statement.

U.S. President Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau agreed to a deal in March aimed at stopping asylum seekers coming to Canada through unofficial border crossings, a move critics said could mean refugees and migrants will take more risks when crossing.

Increased scrutiny at the border will drive more desperate people into expensive and risky schemes like the one Singh is accused of orchestrating, said Chris Ramsaroop of Justicia for Migrant Workers.

“We’re going to see a lot more people put into perilous conditions,” he said. “These are strong deterrent measures that are going to have a tremendous impact on the most vulnerable people,” Ramsaroop said, reported CTV News.