4th Man Arrested After Nearly 50 Migrants Smuggled Into Quebec in Back of Truck: Border Agency

A fourth individual has been arrested in connection with a smuggling incident that saw a truck carrying nearly 50 foreign nationals intercepted in southern Quebec, according to the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA).

Quebec police intercepted the truck near the town of Stanstead near Haskell Road on Aug. 3, according to CBSA. The foreign nationals were found inside the back of the 16-foot truck, police previously told The Epoch Times. The group included a couple of children and a pregnant woman.

As a result, three people were arrested and charged under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) and the Customs Act.

CBSA said a fourth man was arrested in connection with the incident at the Montreal-Trudeau airport on Aug. 8. He was allegedly preparing to leave Canada.

Tolga Yilmaz, 34, has been charged with one count of inciting, aiding, abetting or attempting to induce, aid, or abet a person to commit an offence under the IRPA, and one charge of assisting people to enter Canada outside of a designated customs office under the Customs Act. The other suspects in the case have also been charged with the same offences.

Yilmaz appeared in court on Aug. 9 and is still in custody waiting for further proceedings, according to CBSA.

The individuals in the van were taken to the CBSA refugee processing centre in Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle, police told The Epoch Times. Each will be subject to immigration examinations and given an independent assessment of the eligibility of their claim.

The agency said the investigation was ongoing and further charges may be laid.

CBSA said it was also investigating other individuals suspected of being linked to illegal crossings in Quebec.

RCMP arrested two other individuals in the Valleyfield region on Aug. 10. The individuals are accused of attempting to smuggle 11 foreign nationals into the country.

The CBSA said Can Volkan, 25, and Kurey Recep, 27, have been charged under the IRPA and Customs Act. The agency said that investigations were underway to establish links between Volkan and Recep and other human smuggling incidents.

Anyone with information on human smuggling activities has been asked to contact the RCMP at 514-939-8300, the CBSA at 1-888-502-9060, or local police.

The border agency said that human smugglers charge passengers “large sums of money” for transporting them across the border, making illegal migration a “lucrative business.”

The CBSA has processed 22,237 asylum applications in Canada as of July 27. Last year at the same time, it had processed 41,187 applications.

In Quebec, CBSA officers processed 14,874 asylum applications as of July 27, compared to 22,337 at the same time last year.