Officials Say Border Ring Broken

U.S. and Canadian authorities said Wednesday that they had broken up a human smuggling ring suspected of illegally shepherding dozens of Indians and Pakistanis into Washington state from British Columbia.

A federal grand jury in Seattle has indicted 14 U.S. and Canadian men for roles in the alleged scheme. Twelve had been arrested as of Wednesday.

Leigh Winchell, special agent in charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Seattle, said about 50 people had been apprehended who had paid as much as $35,000 each to be smuggled into the U.S.

Winchell said none of those involved in the operation were suspected of terrorist activity.

Assistant U.S. Atty. Doug Whalley said the arrests were the result of “exceptional communication” between law enforcement on both sides of the border.

“It allowed us to not just arrest one or two smugglers but to arrest the organization,” he said.

Canadian authorities plan to file 25 charges against some of the same 14 people and others, Whalley said. When the cases overlap, the two sides will meet and decide which country is in the best position to pursue the case, he said.

Investigators started tracking the operation, based in Vancouver, Canada, in January 2005 after three men in Oroville, Wash., raised suspicion by inquiring about border enforcement.