Human Smuggling—US-Canada Border

A federal grand jury in Seattle has returned an indictment charging 14 men from Washington State and Canada with human smuggling violations.^[1] 12 of the 14 men have been taken into custody, while the other two individuals are still being sought.^[2]

The alleged ringleader of the smuggling operation is Kavel Multani, who holds dual Canadian and Indian citizenship, and he “has been charged with nine counts of smuggling and transporting illegal immigrants.”^[3] It is alleged that the operation “funneled” dozens of Pakistani and Indian nationals from British Columbia into Washington State, often charging up to $35,000 per person.^[4] There is no indication that any of the individuals were involved with terrorism, and they were likely looking for financial opportunities or to be reunited with their families.^[5]

Unlike last weeks announcement that 22 Chinese nationals were found at Seattle’s Harbor Island, this operation “represented a different facet of the $10 billion per year human-smuggling industry.”^[6] According to officials, “the Indian and Pakistani nationals were given false documents while they were in their home countries, which helped them get commercial flights to Toronto,” and once they reached Canada, they were taken to Vancouver, “where they were housed until [Mr.] Multani could sneak them across the border.”^[7] Once in the United States, “the illegal immigrants were put in hotels until they could get commercial flights to their final destinations within the country.”^[8]

The investigation began in January 2005 when US Customs and Border Protection agents received a tip about three men “who had purchased maps of the border and asked suspicious questions.”^[9] 10 illegal immigrants in a van registered to Mr. Multani were arrested a week later, which “started a yearlong investigation that was aimed at taking down the entire operation.”^[10]

The interesting aspect of this case is that most of the individuals have been indicted separately, and only a couple, Jatinder Brar and Sukveer Sandhu, have been charged with conspiracy to smuggle and transport illegal aliens. One of the individuals, Matthew Dehagi, was indicted in February, and has already pleaded guilty. No doubt his cooperation led to the majority of the indictments and arrests. Another individual, Harminder Singh, has a civil action against the US Government pending because he was struck by an employee of the Department of the Navy who allegedly ran a red light. ^[11] And two of the individuals named in the press as being part of the operation do not, at this time, show up in PACER.

---

[1] Brian Alexander, U.S., Canada Crack Human Smuggling Ring, Indict 14, Seattle Times, Apr. 13, 2006.
[2] Id.
[3] Id.
[4] Id.
[5] Id.
[6] Id.
[7] Id.
[8] Id.
[9] Id.
[10] Id.
[11] See Singh v. United States, No. 2:05-cv-00372, (W.D. Wa. 2006) (available through PACER).