AKWESASNE – Simranjit Singh, 40, a citizen of India living in Canada, pleaded guilty Friday, July 28 to alien smuggling and conspiracy to commit alien smuggling through Cornwall Island and the Akwesasne Mohawk Indian Reservation into the North Country.

At the request of the United States, Singh was taken into custody on June 28, 2022, in Ontario, Canada. Singh was extradited from Canada to the United States on March 30, 2023.

The announcement was made by United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman, Chief Patrol Agent Robert N. Garcia, United States Border Patrol, Swanton Sector, and Matthew Scarpino, Special Agent in Charge of the Buffalo Field Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

In pleading guilty, Singh admitted that from at least March of 2020 through March of 2021, he facilitated the smuggling of numerous Indian nationals from Canada into the United States, via Cornwall Island and the Akwesasne Mohawk Indian Reservation in the St. Lawrence River region, for profit.

Sentencing is scheduled for December 28, 2023, before United States District Judge Mae A. D’Agostino in Albany, New York, at which time Singh faces a mandatory term of 5 years in prison and up to 15 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and a term of supervised release of up to three years. Singh will be subject to deportation following the conclusion of his sentence, which is determined by an immigration judge. A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, and other factors.

This case was investigated by United States Border Patrol, Homeland Security Investigations, the Ontario Provincial Police, the Canadian Border Services Agency, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Stitt with assistance from the U.S. Department of Justice Office of International Affairs.