5 in custody after foiled illegal border crossing attempt

THUNDER BAY, ON, Sept. 14 /CNW/ - On the evening of Wednesday September 9th, 2009 , acting on information received from the public, members of the Lake Superior Integrated Border Enforcement Team (IBET) arrested four individuals for illegally entering Canada from the United States . The four individuals (1 Mexican and 3 Honduran Citizens) were arrested without incident by members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) at approximately 9:00 p.m. on the shoulder of Hwy 61 approximately 2 kilometers north of the Pigeon Riverborder point after they allegedly crossed through the woods on-foot. Earlier that same evening, one person was arrested in the United States near Grand Marais, Minnesota by U.S. Border Patrol agents for allegedly transporting the other four individuals to a point just south of the Pigeon River, Ontario Port of Entry.

All 5 are currently still in custody as this joint U.S./Canada investigation continues to progress through the cooperative efforts of the RCMP and Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) in Canada and members of the US Customs and Border Protection/Border Patrol (US CBP/BP) and US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (US ICE) in the United States .

"One of the key components that contributed to the safe apprehension of these five individuals was the outstanding cooperation of private citizens on both sides of theborder", stated Sergeant Normand Roy , the commander of the RCMP Thunder Bay Detachment. "The public's involvement was indispensable!"

Lake Superior IBET is a multi-agency law enforcement and intelligence team that emphasizes a harmonized approach to Canadian and United States efforts that target cross-border criminal activity. Its members include the RCMP, OPP, Thunder Bay Police Service, CBSA, U.S. Homeland Security, the U.S. Coast Guard, the U.S. CBP/BP, U.S. ICE, U.S., state, provincial and local police agencies.

Members of the Lake Superior IBET focus on the security of our shared U.S./Canada border and are committed to keeping our citizens safe. If you have any information regarding criminal activity along the border, please contact your local RCMP detachment or the RCMP O Division Telecommunications Centre at 1-800-387-0020.

For further information: on this incident, please contact: Sgt Normand Roy, RCMP Thunder Bay Detachment, Detachment Commander, Office: [phone]