Indian man extradited from Canada to U.S., charged with human smuggling in Akwesasne

Dividing the United States from Canada, a portion of the frozen St. Lawrence River, flows by the Canadian side of the Akwesane reservation Tuesday, March 15, 2022. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Federal prosecutors in the United States say an Indian man living in Canada was paid thousands of dollars to smuggle other Indian nationals into the United States through the Akwesasne Mohawk reserve.

Simranjit (Shally) 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.