RCMP charge Montreal men who allegedly tried to smuggle people across U.S. border

RCMP officers unwrap a new warning sign for asylum seekers on the border at Roxham Road from New York into Canada Saturday March 25, 2023, in Champlain, N.Y. RCMP have charged two Montreal men with conspiracy after they were allegedly caught trying to smuggle people across the border into the United States last year. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz

RCMP have charged two Montreal men after they were allegedly caught trying to smuggle people across the border into the United States last year.

Police say Marcos Chagolla Rojas, 39, and Lino Guerrero Martinez, 29, have been charged with conspiracy to commit an offence in the United States.

An RCMP news release says the two men were arrested in East Pinnacle, near the border in Quebec's Eastern Townships, with a group of 11 people on Aug. 3.

Police say they are scheduled to appear in court in Granby, Que., on Feb. 19.

The news comes as United States Border Patrol is reporting a surge in the number of people trying to cross the border from Canada illegally.

The agency recently said that agents in the Swanton Sector, who patrol Vermont, New Hampshire, and northeastern New York, apprehended more than 3,100 people from 55 countries between October and the beginning of February.

- This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 13, 2024.