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Canadian pleads guilty in Canton to transporting undocumented immigrants

Posted 3/12/20

CANTON -- A Canadian citizen has pleaded guilty to transporting undocumented immigrants, the Department of Justice said in a Thursday, March 12 statement. Kumanaraj Thurairajah, 44, pled guilty …

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Canadian pleads guilty in Canton to transporting undocumented immigrants

Posted

CANTON -- A Canadian citizen has pleaded guilty to transporting undocumented immigrants, the Department of Justice said in a Thursday, March 12 statement.

Kumanaraj Thurairajah, 44, pled guilty yesterday in federal court to transporting illegal aliens, DOJ said.

Thurairajah, a Canadian citizen and a resident of Ontario, Canada, admitted that, on the morning of Oct. 5, he was waiting in a parking lot outside of a hotel in Canton, according to DOJ. While he was waiting, a van dropped off six Indian nationals, all of whom had recently crossed into the United States illegally, DOGJ said. The aliens entered Thurairajah’s van and they departed intending to travel to New York City. "Thurairajah and his passengers were thereafter apprehended by United States Border Patrol agents. As part of his guilty plea, Thurairajah admitted that he knew or recklessly disregarded the fact that the Indian nationals were unlawfully in the United States, and that he acted with the intent to further their unlawful presence," DOJ said.

Thurairajah faces up to 5 years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000, and up to 3 years of supervised release when he is sentenced by Senior Judge Lawrence E. Kahn on July 8. This case was investigated by the United States Border Patrol, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Sutcliffe.