The RCMP have laid charges against three men in Quebec accused of smuggling people into Canada from the United States.
Muhammet Akca, 41, is charged with conspiring to facilitate the illegal crossing of several people in 2024 and is scheduled to appear in court in Valleyfield, Que., on March 3.
The police investigation began after Akca was intercepted last May in Ormstown, Que., southwest of Montreal, while driving a vehicle allegedly headed toward an unguarded border crossing to pick up a group of people who had crossed illegally into Canada.
Adrian Jose Herrera Tabares, 34, and Frangeli Coromoto Guzman Espinoza, 28, were arrested on Nov. 15 in a vehicle in nearby Franklin, Que., as part of a separate investigation.
They are facing charges under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act for allegedly planning to pick up two people who had illegally crossed into Canada, and they are scheduled to appear in court in Valleyfield on April 25.
The RCMP says 13 other investigations related to illegal crossings led to charges at the Valleyfield courthouse in 2024.
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