Network of Turkish smugglers transporting migrants into Quebec, RCMP says

Montreal Gazette

2 days ago

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A network of Turkish smugglers has been operating to bring mostly Haitian asylum seekers into Quebec in recent months, police believe.
'For the last five or six months, we've had crossings in which Turkish individuals were intercepted or arrested at the border,' RCMP Cpl. Hugo Lavoie told The Gazette Wednesday. 'Why Turkish people? We don't know.'
On Sunday, the RCMP says it arrested two Turkish nationals allegedly involved in a smuggling scheme near Valleyfield, which Lavoie said saw 11 Haitian asylum seekers intercepted in two cars. Earlier this month, police say they stopped a U-Haul truck near Stanstead packed with 44 migrants, also mostly of Haitian origin. Four alleged smugglers are under arrest in that case, which the RCMP says it believes is connected to this latest incident. The asylum claimants, meanwhile, were transported into Canada Border Services Agency custody. CBSA has since deported an unknown number of the asylum seekers to the U.S., where they were likely detained by immigration officials.
'Right now, it's a lot of Haitians,' crossing into Quebec, Lavoie said. The uptick began around five months ago, he said.
U.S. immigration crackdowns under President Donald Trump have led some to seek refuge in Canada, including Haitians, whose temporary protected status is under threat from the Trump administration. Gang violence and political arrest in Haiti have made the country dangerous to many.
The alleged network of Turkish smugglers is the only one police are investigating, Lavoie said. Alongside the U-Haul case and this weekend's incident, he said investigators are trying to tie the network to a July collision in Hemmingford that saw an SUV strike a vehicle carrying around a dozen migrants.
Smugglers in Canada have 'contacts in the United States,' Lavoie said, who typically drop migrants 'on the other side (of the border) in the United States.'
Migrants then cross on foot through forest to reach smugglers on this side of the border, he said. In the area south of Valleyfield, 'there's not even a kilometre' to cross, Lavoie said. Asylum seekers 'enter the woods, walk 15, 20 minutes, and arrive in Canada.'
Crossings typically happen at night to avoid police detection, he added.
Asylum seekers found by police aren't typically allowed to apply for refugee status in Canada, a result of an agreement signed between Canada and the United States that allows Canadian authorities to deport most asylum claimants back to the U.S. But asylum seekers who evade detection for 14 days after crossing the border are exempt, and can apply for a hearing with the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada. The agreement has seen asylum seekers turn to smugglers to avoid deportation.
Asylum claimants caught by police know they're likely to be sent back to the U.S., Lavoie said. 'They're all co-operative. They don't resist.'