Harshkumar Ramanlal Patel and Steve Shand were convicted of human smuggling charges after their roles in an operation that led to the deaths of an Indian migrant family during a 2022 blizzard at the Canada-U.S. border.

Two Men Convicted in Human Smuggling Operation Linked to Fatal Canada-U.S. Border Crossing

Mexican authorities found 175 migrants crowded in&nbsp;a truck trailer in the southern state of Chiapas, news agency Reuters reported citing the National Migration Institute (INM). The migrants were mostly from Guatemala.&nbsp;

The incident emerges to be the latest mass human smuggling incident to be detected in the country.

In a statement, INM said that immigration agents heard yells and banging coming from inside the vehicle when it was stopped at a checkpoint in Chiapas.&nbsp;

INM said that despite the driver's refusal to open the truck's back door, migrants' faces could be seen via vents in the compartment.&nbsp;

The institution posted images of people standing close together inside the vehicle before descending one by one with the assistance of INM agents.&nbsp;

The report mentioned that most of the migrants were from Guatemala, with others from Ecuador, El Salvador and Honduras. One person was from the Dominican Republic and one was from Pakistan. There were 28 unaccompanied youngsters from Guatemala and two from El Salvador in the group.&nbsp;

<h2>Recent incident of truck-trailer fire in Tamaulipas&nbsp;</h2>

Earlier this month, local authorities said that a tractor-trailer and a van crashed on a highway in the northern Mexican state of Tamaulipas, killing 26 people.&nbsp;

The Tamaulipas' public security ministry said that two vehicles crashed about half an hour outside of the state capital Ciudad Victoria and then caught on fire.&nbsp;

Authorities found the truck carrying the trailer was no longer at the scene when they arrived at the site of the crash.&nbsp;

A source at the Tamaulipas prosecutors' office said investigators were unsure whether the driver of the truck had fled or if he was also killed in the crash.&nbsp;

Reuters cited a source as saying that the passengers of the van, believed to be from a private transportation business, included children. &nbsp;

<h2>Massive migrant issue</h2>

Migrants escaping poverty and violence in Latin America frequently pay smugglers to sneak through Mexico on their way to the United States.&nbsp;

This year, more than 300 people were discovered in a tractor-trailer in the eastern state of Veracruz.&nbsp;

According to US Homeland Security official Blas Nunez-Neto, migrant interactions at the US-Mexico border have decreased by 70 per cent since the expiration of Covid-era border limitations known as Title 42 on May 11. &nbsp;

But despite that, Panamanian data shows the number of US-bound migrants crossing the dangerous jungle between Panama and Colombia has soared this year. It underlines the challenge the US faces as it seeks to curb surging migration.&nbsp;

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Mexican authorities found 175 migrants crowded in a truck trailer in the southern state of Chiapas, news agency Reuters reported citing the National Migration Institute (INM).

Mexican authorities found 175 migrants crowded in a truck trailer in the southern state of Chiapas, news agency Reuters reported citing the National Migration Institute (INM). The migrants were mostly from Guatemala. The incident emerges to be the latest mass human smuggling incident to be detected in the country. In a statement, INM said that immigration agents heard yells and banging coming from inside the vehicle when it was stopped at a checkpoint in Chiapas. INM said that despite the driver's refusal to open the truck's back door, migrants' faces could be seen via vents in the compartment. The institution posted images of people standing close together inside the vehicle before descending one by one with the assistance of INM agents. The report mentioned that most of the migrants were from Guatemala, with others from Ecuador, El Salvador and Honduras. One person was from the Dominican Republic and one was from Pakistan. There were 28 unaccompanied youngsters from Guatemala and two from El Salvador in the group. Recent incident of truck-trailer fire in Tamaulipas Earlier this month, local authorities said that a tractor-trailer and a van crashed on a highway in the northern Mexican state of Tamaulipas, killing 26 people. The Tamaulipas' public security ministry said that two vehicles crashed about half an hour outside of the state capital Ciudad Victoria and then caught on fire. Authorities found the truck carrying the trailer was no longer at the scene when they arrived at the site of the crash. A source at the Tamaulipas prosecutors' office said investigators were unsure whether the driver of the truck had fled or if he was also killed in the crash. Reuters cited a source as saying that the passengers of the van, believed to be from a private transportation business, included children. Massive migrant issue Migrants escaping poverty and violence in Latin America frequently pay smugglers to sneak through Mexico on their way to the United States. This year, more than 300 people were discovered in a tractor-trailer in the eastern state of Veracruz. According to US Homeland Security official Blas Nunez-Neto, migrant interactions at the US-Mexico border have decreased by 70 per cent since the expiration of Covid-era border limitations known as Title 42 on May 11. But despite that, Panamanian data shows the number of US-bound migrants crossing the dangerous jungle between Panama and Colombia has soared this year. It underlines the challenge the US faces as it seeks to curb surging migration. WATCH WION LIVE HERE You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.

Mexican officials find 175 migrants crammed in a truck trailer near southern border

Authorities in Washington unveiled a series of indictments which revealed a lucrative human smuggling operation across the US-Mexico border. They have indicated that this operation allegedly entails smuggling migrants in suitcases and water tanks to get them across the border. Officials with the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) told reporters on Tuesday&nbsp;that these smugglers are profit-driven and indifferent to human life.&nbsp;

According to court records and media reports, at least eight people, most of whom&nbsp;are US citizens, were charged in relation to this operation which has smuggled hundreds of people in wooden crates on tractor-trailers with little ventilation. Additionally, six others were cited as co-conspirators, the reports indicated.&nbsp;

This move is in line with US President Joe Biden and his administration’s bid to disrupt and curtail smuggling networks at the US-Mexico border. So far, they have arrested nearly 2 million people this fiscal year, which began last October. “They have become increasingly intertwined with the cartels and there is increasing evidence of the abuse, exploitation and violence they perpetrate on migrants,” &nbsp;said DHS deputy secretary, John Tien, at a press conference.&nbsp;

ALSO READ |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/2-indians-among-94-people-rescued-in-mexico-after-driver-abandons-vehicle-carrying-illegal-migrants-501859">94 people rescued in Mexico after driver abandons vehicle carrying illegal migrants</a>

US prosecutors also identified Texas resident Erminia Serrano Piedra, a 31-year-old, who also goes by the name “boss lady”, as the leader of the smuggling operation. Serrano Piedra deposited more than $1.3 million in two bank accounts between December 2017 and August 2021.&nbsp;

Earlier this year, in June, 53 migrants being smuggled across the border died after they were trapped in a sweltering tractor trailer in San Antonio, Texas. This was as the temperature in the area had soared as high as 39.4 degree Celsius. Subsequently, four men including the alleged driver were charged by prosecutors. According to a report, half of the 53 victims were from Mexico while others were from Central American countries, Honduras and Guatemala. &nbsp;

(with inputs from agencies) 
&nbsp;

Authorities in Washington unveiled a series of indictments which revealed a lucrative human smuggling operation across the US-Mexico border. They have indicated that this operation allegedly entails smuggling migrants in suitcases and water tanks to get them across the border.

Authorities in Washington unveiled a series of indictments which revealed a lucrative human smuggling operation across the US-Mexico border. They have indicated that this operation allegedly entails smuggling migrants in suitcases and water tanks to get them across the border. Officials with the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) told reporters on Tuesday that these smugglers are profit-driven and indifferent to human life. According to court records and media reports, at least eight people, most of whom are US citizens, were charged in relation to this operation which has smuggled hundreds of people in wooden crates on tractor-trailers with little ventilation. Additionally, six others were cited as co-conspirators, the reports indicated. This move is in line with US President Joe Biden and his administration’s bid to disrupt and curtail smuggling networks at the US-Mexico border. So far, they have arrested nearly 2 million people this fiscal year, which began last October. “They have become increasingly intertwined with the cartels and there is increasing evidence of the abuse, exploitation and violence they perpetrate on migrants,” said DHS deputy secretary, John Tien, at a press conference. ALSO READ | 94 people rescued in Mexico after driver abandons vehicle carrying illegal migrants US prosecutors also identified Texas resident Erminia Serrano Piedra, a 31-year-old, who also goes by the name “boss lady”, as the leader of the smuggling operation. Serrano Piedra deposited more than $1.3 million in two bank accounts between December 2017 and August 2021. Earlier this year, in June, 53 migrants being smuggled across the border died after they were trapped in a sweltering tractor trailer in San Antonio, Texas. This was as the temperature in the area had soared as high as 39.4 degree Celsius. Subsequently, four men including the alleged driver were charged by prosecutors. According to a report, half of the 53 victims were from Mexico while others were from Central American countries, Honduras and Guatemala. (with inputs from agencies)

Smugglers put migrants in suitcases and empty water tanks, allege US prosecutors

In a suspected human smuggling venture in the United States, a boat capsized off the coast of Florida. The United States coast guard has launched a search for 39 people who've been reported missing. The coast guard in Miami received a report from the savior of a rescued stated that he was clinging to a capsized vessel.

United States: 39 people missing after boat capsized, suspected case of human smuggling

A 60-year-old Indian man has pleaded guilty for his role in a complex, transnational conspiracy to smuggle individuals from India to the US for profit, which claimed at least one life and endangered many others, the US Justice Department said. 
&nbsp; 
Yadvinder Singh Bhamba pleaded guilty last month to one count of conspiracy and 15 counts of smuggling aliens to the United States for profit before US Magistrate Judge Sivia Carreno-Coll of the District of Puerto Rico.

A sentencing hearing is scheduled for April. 
&nbsp; 
According to admissions in Bhamba's plea agreement, since 2013, Bhamba had a leadership role in a human smuggling conspiracy operating out of the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Puerto Rico, India and elsewhere.&nbsp;

As part of the conspiracy, Bhamba personally assisted around 400 people to unlawfully enter the United States between 2013 and 2015.

He also oversaw and directed co-conspirators operating out of the Caribbean, Assistant Attorney General Brian Benczkowski of the Justice Department's Criminal Division said. 
&nbsp; 
Individuals paid between US$ 30,000 and US$ 85,000 to be smuggled from India to the United States and from at least 2013 to 2016, human smuggling was Bhamba's primary source of income, the Department said.&nbsp;

Bhamba was arrested in the Dominican Republic in August 2017 and later transferred to Puerto Rico.&nbsp;

Bhamba and other members of the conspiracy made flight arrangements for people to travel from India through other countries including Thailand, the United Arab Emirates, Argentina, Iran, Panama, Venezuela, Belize, and Haiti to the Dominican Republic, which was used as a staging area, where aliens were housed before being transported to the United States.&nbsp;

The organisation brought groups of aliens from the Dominican Republic to Puerto Rico or Florida by boat and from there they were picked up by co-conspirators and taken to stash houses until flights could be arranged to California, New York, or elsewhere in the United States.

&nbsp;Bhamba and others arranged for fraudulent identifications for some aliens to use in the United States.&nbsp;

The Justice Department said that the boat trips organised by Bhamba and his co-conspirators were perilous. Boat captains used old, damaged, cracked, unlicensed, overcrowded, and unsafe boats to make the journey.&nbsp;

In at least one instance, a person died in a boat on his way to the United States.&nbsp;

At times, the smugglers would take passports from the aliens during their journeys, physically assault them, and threaten their families to collect money.&nbsp;

Bhamba used fraudulent Indian, Dominican, and Jamaican identifications for travel and financial transactions related to the conspiracy.&nbsp;

In some instances, he created and provided false employment documents on behalf of the aliens to authorities to obtain foreign visas.

Bhamba also instructed aliens travelling through foreign airports how to find, and in some instances, pay cash to, corrupt immigration officials, passport control officers, or airport employees in order to bypass regular immigration and passport control procedures. 
&nbsp;

A 60-year-old Indian man has pleaded guilty for his role in a complex, transnational conspiracy to smuggle individuals from India to the US for profit, which claimed at least one life and endangered many others, the US Justice Department said.

A 60-year-old Indian man has pleaded guilty for his role in a complex, transnational conspiracy to smuggle individuals from India to the US for profit, which claimed at least one life and endangered many others, the US Justice Department said. Yadvinder Singh Bhamba pleaded guilty last month to one count of conspiracy and 15 counts of smuggling aliens to the United States for profit before US Magistrate Judge Sivia Carreno-Coll of the District of Puerto Rico. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for April. According to admissions in Bhamba's plea agreement, since 2013, Bhamba had a leadership role in a human smuggling conspiracy operating out of the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Puerto Rico, India and elsewhere. As part of the conspiracy, Bhamba personally assisted around 400 people to unlawfully enter the United States between 2013 and 2015. He also oversaw and directed co-conspirators operating out of the Caribbean, Assistant Attorney General Brian Benczkowski of the Justice Department's Criminal Division said. Individuals paid between US$ 30,000 and US$ 85,000 to be smuggled from India to the United States and from at least 2013 to 2016, human smuggling was Bhamba's primary source of income, the Department said. Bhamba was arrested in the Dominican Republic in August 2017 and later transferred to Puerto Rico. Bhamba and other members of the conspiracy made flight arrangements for people to travel from India through other countries including Thailand, the United Arab Emirates, Argentina, Iran, Panama, Venezuela, Belize, and Haiti to the Dominican Republic, which was used as a staging area, where aliens were housed before being transported to the United States. The organisation brought groups of aliens from the Dominican Republic to Puerto Rico or Florida by boat and from there they were picked up by co-conspirators and taken to stash houses until flights could be arranged to California, New York, or elsewhere in the United States. Bhamba and others arranged for fraudulent identifications for some aliens to use in the United States. The Justice Department said that the boat trips organised by Bhamba and his co-conspirators were perilous. Boat captains used old, damaged, cracked, unlicensed, overcrowded, and unsafe boats to make the journey. In at least one instance, a person died in a boat on his way to the United States. At times, the smugglers would take passports from the aliens during their journeys, physically assault them, and threaten their families to collect money. Bhamba used fraudulent Indian, Dominican, and Jamaican identifications for travel and financial transactions related to the conspiracy. In some instances, he created and provided false employment documents on behalf of the aliens to authorities to obtain foreign visas. Bhamba also instructed aliens travelling through foreign airports how to find, and in some instances, pay cash to, corrupt immigration officials, passport control officers, or airport employees in order to bypass regular immigration and passport control procedures.

Indian national pleads guilty to transnational human smuggling conspiracy in US

Pakistani police on Wednesday found 15 bullet-ridden bodies of kidnap victims near the border with Iran, a favoured route for human traffickers taking workers illegally to Europe.

The bodies were found abandoned in a mountainous region of Buleda, in Baluchistan province, 600 km (370 miles) south of the provincial capital of Quetta, district commissioner Bashir Ahmad Bangalzai told Reuters.

He said documents and other belongings found on the bodies suggested that they were en route to Iran illegally.

Human smuggling is big business in Pakistan and other poor South Asian countries. There have been instances of workers being killed in border areas, or sometimes dying during road or sea travel.

It was not clear what prompted the killings, said Bangalzai. He said all 15 came from Pakistan&rsquo;s eastern province of Punjab.

&ldquo;We&rsquo;re getting in contact with their families,&rdquo; he said.

A police official said all 15 were reported to have been kidnapped on Tuesday.

No one has claimed responsibility.

Violence-plagued Baluchistan, which also borders Afghanistan, has long been home to separatist groups seeking a greater share of regional resources and Islamist militants linked to al Qaeda, the Taliban, and Islamic State.

The violence has raised concerns about security for projects in the $57 billion China Pakistan Economic Corridor, a planned transport and energy link from western China to Pakistan&rsquo;s southern deep-water port of Gwadar.

'Documents and other belongings found on the bodies suggested that they were en route to Iran illegally,' said district commissioner Bashir Ahmad Bangalzai

Pakistani police on Wednesday found 15 bullet-ridden bodies of kidnap victims near the border with Iran, a favoured route for human traffickers taking workers illegally to Europe. The bodies were found abandoned in a mountainous region of Buleda, in Baluchistan province, 600 km (370 miles) south of the provincial capital of Quetta, district commissioner Bashir Ahmad Bangalzai told Reuters. He said documents and other belongings found on the bodies suggested that they were en route to Iran illegally. Human smuggling is big business in Pakistan and other poor South Asian countries. There have been instances of workers being killed in border areas, or sometimes dying during road or sea travel. It was not clear what prompted the killings, said Bangalzai. He said all 15 came from Pakistan’s eastern province of Punjab. “We’re getting in contact with their families,” he said. A police official said all 15 were reported to have been kidnapped on Tuesday. No one has claimed responsibility. Violence-plagued Baluchistan, which also borders Afghanistan, has long been home to separatist groups seeking a greater share of regional resources and Islamist militants linked to al Qaeda, the Taliban, and Islamic State. The violence has raised concerns about security for projects in the $57 billion China Pakistan Economic Corridor, a planned transport and energy link from western China to Pakistan’s southern deep-water port of Gwadar.

15 bullet-ridden bodies of kidnap victims found in Pakistan

Rescuers saved 366 migrants from rickety boats trying to cross the Mediterranean to Italy, but at least 20 were reported to have drowned, Italian police said today. 
 
The survivors, who were rescued in four separate operations, were crammed onto three rubber dinghies and a wooden fishing boat. 
 
They were all taken to the Sicilian port of Augusta, where they were questioned on Friday evening by the Italian police unit, Interforce, which combats illegal immigration. 
 
The Norwegian ship, Siem Pilot, went to the aid of one dinghy that sank in the Sicilian Channel, but many migrants were already in the sea when it arrived, Antonio Panzanaro, an Interforce official, told Reuters. One corpse was recovered, but survivors said that at least 20 had drowned before the ship arrived, he said. 
 
There were 82 women and 25 children among the 366 people rescued, he said. The survivors were mainly from Nigeria, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Bangladesh. 
 
Seven people were arrested from the four boats, including their drivers, on suspicion of people-trafficking, he said. 
 
Italy has long been on the front line of seaborne migration from Africa to Europe, and is now the main point of entry after the European Union struck a deal with Turkey to stem flows to Greece amid Europe&#39;s worst migration crisis since World War II. 
 
Slightly fewer migrants arrived on Italian shores in the first six months of 2016 compared with the same period last year, but the number of deaths on the route has risen, according to the International Organisation for Migration (IOM). 
 
More than 67,000 seaborne migrants arrived in Italy between January 1 and July 3, according to the International organisation of migration (IOM). 
 
(Reuters)

The migrants from Nigeria, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Bangladesh were trying to cross over to Italy

Rescuers saved 366 migrants from rickety boats trying to cross the Mediterranean to Italy, but at least 20 were reported to have drowned, Italian police said today. The survivors, who were rescued in four separate operations, were crammed onto three rubber dinghies and a wooden fishing boat. They were all taken to the Sicilian port of Augusta, where they were questioned on Friday evening by the Italian police unit, Interforce, which combats illegal immigration. The Norwegian ship, Siem Pilot, went to the aid of one dinghy that sank in the Sicilian Channel, but many migrants were already in the sea when it arrived, Antonio Panzanaro, an Interforce official, told Reuters. One corpse was recovered, but survivors said that at least 20 had drowned before the ship arrived, he said. There were 82 women and 25 children among the 366 people rescued, he said. The survivors were mainly from Nigeria, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Bangladesh. Seven people were arrested from the four boats, including their drivers, on suspicion of people-trafficking, he said. Italy has long been on the front line of seaborne migration from Africa to Europe, and is now the main point of entry after the European Union struck a deal with Turkey to stem flows to Greece amid Europe's worst migration crisis since World War II. Slightly fewer migrants arrived on Italian shores in the first six months of 2016 compared with the same period last year, but the number of deaths on the route has risen, according to the International Organisation for Migration (IOM). More than 67,000 seaborne migrants arrived in Italy between January 1 and July 3, according to the International organisation of migration (IOM). (Reuters)

Rescuers save 366 migrants from dinghies in Mediterranean, at least 20 dead

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