U.S. Border Patrol agents in New York stopped a human smuggling attempt near the Canadian border. Three people were arrested including a Russian, a Georgian, and a U.S. naturalized citizen born in Russia.
Border Patrol agents received a report of two people crossing from Canada illegally on Wednesday. The incident occurred shortly after midnight, according to information received from U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials by Breitbart Texas.
Agents with the Swanton Station were dispatched to the scene and stopped a man and woman who were walking through a field near the reported area. The agents determined the two people had illegally crossed the Canadian border with New York.
At about the same time, agents stopped a vehicle with New Jersey license plates in the same area. They determined the driver was in the area to pick up and transport the two illegal aliens. The driver was arrested.
The two foreign nationals who allegedly crossed the border illegally were identified as Russian Nikolay Souslov, 64, and Georgian Teona Janashvili, 34. Souslov was charged with one count of alien smuggling. Janashvili was charged with illegal entry without inspection.
The driver of the alleged escape vehicle was identified as Nadezhda Papova, 69, a naturalized U.S. citizen who was born in Russia. Papova reportedly lives in West Orange, New Jersey. She was charged with alien smuggling.
Court records obtained by Breitbart Texas from the Northern District of New York revealed that Border Patrol agents observed Souslov leading Janashvili through the woods after they had crossed the border. He was allegedly acting as a “coyote” and was found to be in possession of a compass used for navigation. Agents charged that Papova knew the people she was waiting for were entering the country illegally. When asked, court records said she was waiting for a man she knew from her home town in Russia and others. She did not know who the other person was.
Janashvili was reported to be both a Georgian citizen and a citizen of Israel. She was in possession of a Canadian refugee document dated earlier this year. She was not in possession of a passport from either nation at the time of her arrest. Border Patrol agents confirmed the identity of all three suspects using biometric information.
They were transported to a holding facility pending potential prosecution on immigration and human smuggling charges.
“These arrests illustrate the quick response of Border Patrol agents to disrupt human smuggling and other nefarious activity along our nation’s northern border,” Champlain Border Patrol Station Patrol Agent in Charge Norman Lague said in a written statement. “There are ways to legally immigrate to the United States and sneaking across the border isn’t one of them.”
Bob Price serves as associate editor and senior political news contributor for Breitbart Texas. He is a founding member of the Breitbart Texas team. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.