Feds Bust Extensive Uber Smuggling Ring at Northern Border; Man charged in human smuggling scheme; charged with using Uber to transport victims from Canada

Feds bust extensive Uber smuggling ring at northern border:

Indian nationals increasingly testing U.S.-Canada boundary

Federal authorities say Rajinder Pal Singh figured out a sweet scam by smuggling illegal immigrants from India across the northern border and into the Seattle area — by putting them in Ubers.

Investigators revealed evidence of more than 90 Uber trips from just one account that they said showed patterns of smuggling connected to Mr. Singh. They also traced a total of 17 accounts to his organization, according to court documents.

Mr. Singh’s arrest late last month underscored the dangers and vulnerabilities at the northern border, far from the U.S.-Mexico boundary, which gets most of the attention these days.

His case also highlights the increasing numbers of illegal immigrants from Asia, particularly India, who hope the path less traveled will give them a chance to sneak past the Border Patrol and attain a foothold in the U.S.

In April, Customs and Border Protection agents and officers nabbed 1,197 Indians at the northern border. That represents about 13% of all border jumpers along the U.S.-Canada line. Indians made up less than 1% of encounters at the southern border. —>READ MORE HERE

Man charged in human smuggling scheme; charged with using Uber to transport victims from Canada:

A California man was arrested Tuesday in Lacey and charged by criminal complaint with running a human smuggling scheme into Washington state and over the northern border with Canada, U.S. Attorney Nick Brown announced Thursday.

According to the criminal complaint, 48-year-old Rajinder Pal Singh, also known as Jaspal Gill, and his co-conspirators used Uber to transport people who had illegally crossed the border into the Seattle area.

Records show how Uber trips that began near the Canadian border in the early hours of the morning would be split between two rides. For example, one trip would go from the border to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, and then minutes later a second trip would go from a nearby airport hotel to an address in Lacey owned by Singh’s wife.

According to documents, the Lacey house served as a way station for those entering the U.S. illegally. —>READ MORE HERE

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