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A front of the second investigation developed into the drowning of six foreign citizens and two Canadian children in St. Lawrence River.
Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the US federal agency that focuses on transnational crime, has opened a “parallel investigation” into a wider network that could lead to cross-border human smuggling attempts.
HSI began the investigation at the request of the Akwesasne Mohawk Police Service (AMPS), according to an AMPS statement emailed to CBC News.
AMPS revealed a request to HSI as it expanded its own investigation into the suspected network that arranged for the transport of four Indian citizens and a Romanian couple with two Canadian children across the River St.
AMPS has used warrants to seize two vehicles from different areas and investigators have identified persons of interest.
“A criminal investigation is underway by the Akwesasne Mohawk Police who have identified a person of interest who has not complied with the request of investigators to come out of their own accord,” the statement said.
“This has not stopped the investigation as police continue to learn more about the events that led to the tragic drowning.”
WATCH | Search continues:
An intensive search continues in the First Nations community of Akwesasne, after eight bodies were pulled from the St. As the community prepares for word on the last missing person, more details emerge about the identity of the dead, and what can bring them to the edge of the water.
The river is very rough: members of the public
It is believed that eight people boarded a boat on the night of March 29 to cross the St. Lawrence with the goal of entering the US.
Some community members told CBC News that the boats were not supposed to be launched that evening because the river was rough due to bad weather.
An international network is known to use the border area between Ontario-Quebec and New York State to smuggle people into the US Akwesasne, a Haudenosaunee community that is divided by the Canada-US border, located about 120 kilometers west of Montreal, and is one of the areas. targeted by human smuggling networks.
Akwesasne police say they have recorded 48 incidents involving about 80 people trying to cross the Canada-US border irregularly through the area since January.
The majority of individuals trying to cross through Akwesasne are Indian or Romanian nationals, according to the police.
Akwesanse once depended on fishing and farming, but the construction of the St. Lawerence Seaway and industrial development in the area destroyed the abundant fisheries and poisoned the local environment.
AMPS said in a statement the search continues for 30-year-old Akwesasne member Casey Oakes. Oakes has been linked to a failed human smuggling attempt.
He was last seen in a light blue boat east of Cornwall Island, which is part of Akwesasne, and sits in the St. Lawrence River across Cornwall, Ont. Community members told CBC News they don’t believe Oakes owns his own boat.
AMPS said in a statement that the search by water and land only found “footwear” belonging to Oakes.
“There were no other items found by the search team that could be linked to Casey Oakes,” the statement said.
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