A 35-year-old Winnipeg man has recently been arrested and charged in connection to an investigation involving the attempted smuggling of numerous people into Canada near the Gretna Canada Border Services Agency Port of Entry.
On August 22, 2024, at approximately 10:30pm, officers from the RCMP Federal Policing Northwest Region’s Integrated Border Enforcement Team (IBET) in Manitoba, working with counterparts from the United States Border Patrol, became aware of a border incursion happening west of the Gretna Canada Border Services Agency Port of Entry. Officers responded immediately and located the subjects walking northbound from the United States of America into Canada where they were picked up by a lone male driving a rental vehicle.
Police conducted a traffic stop on the vehicle and subsequently arrested eight people under the Customs Act. The driver was also arrested and all individuals were taken to the Emerson RCMP Detachment.
Of the people arrested under the Customs Act, four males and one female were from the Republic of Chad, two males were from the Republic of Sudan, and one female was from the Republic of Guinea. The subjects were all adults ranging in age from 19 to 48 years old.
RCMP report that 35-year-old Abshir Mohamed Osman, a Somali national residing in Winnipeg, was arrested and charged with human smuggling contrary to section 117 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. He was released at the direction of Public Prosecution Service of Canada on several conditions and is to attend Emerson Provincial Court at a future date.
“We were able to interview all eight subjects with the assistance of RCMP officers who speak French and Arabic,” said Sgt. Lance Goldau, head of the IBET in Manitoba. “After our processes were completed, all of the migrants were turned over to Canada Border Services Agency for their processing, and we continue with the smuggling investigation against the suspect. This investigation speaks to the value of our partnership with the United States Border Patrol and we remain committed to working closely together in the interest of border security.”
