A mysterious cellphone, cryptic instructions and an interrupted smuggling run of 14 Indian nationals

U.S. Border Patrol agents recently disrupted an attempted smuggling run moving 14 Indian nationals from Canada into the U.S. across the Quebec-New York State border, court records show.

This was one of the largest interceptions of Indian nationals by the U.S. Border Patrol in a single smuggling event over the past three years along this area of the Canada-U.S. border, according to U.S. federal court records.

The driver of the vehicle the agents stopped said he was recruited for the smuggling run in a manner resembling a spy novel. The location of the interception may also signal a shift in the tactics of smuggling networks operating in the area.

According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the border area known as the Swanton Sector runs from the New Hampshire-Maine state line to the western half of New York State south of Ottawa. This sector records the highest rate of irregular traffic flowing into the U.S. along the Canada-U.S. border. The heaviest traffic moves over the borders of Quebec and the U.S. states of New York and Vermont.

• Along a stretch of the Canada-U.S. border, smugglers cash in on people fleeing Mexico's poverty and violence

U.S. Border Patrol agents have arrested more than 4,900 people from 68 countries crossing through the Swanton Sector over the last 10 months, according to data posted this month on social media by Robert Garcia, the sector's chief patrol agent. His post said the tally for that 10-month period was more than all arrests over the previous "eight years combined."

Agents discovered the Indian nationals after stopping a Jeep Wagoneer they said was driving in an "unusual pattern" down back roads along the international border in the early morning hours of July 20, according to records filed with the U.S. Federal Court, New York Northern District.

"The agent noticed numerous passengers stacked on top of one another, covered in debris, wearing wet clothing and some still wearing backpacks," said a criminal complaint filed by a U.S. Border Patrol agent with the court. The document said that five of the 14 people were crammed in the SUV's cargo hold and none "could speak English."

U.S. Customs and Border Protection did not respond to a request for comment from CBC News. U.S. Homeland Security Investigations, which takes the lead in probing cross-border human smuggling networks, declined to comment.

The RCMP, which patrols the Canadian border between customs ports, did not respond to a request for comment as of this article's publishing.

WATCH | Smugglers cashing in on Mexican migrants crossing into U.S. from Canada:

Human smugglers charging migrants to cross into U.S. from Canada

10 months ago

Duration 6:14

Along a stretch of the Canada-U.S. border, human smuggling networks are cashing in on another route to the American dream for people fleeing Mexico’s poverty and violence.

Mystery caller organized run, alleged smuggler says

U.S. authorities charged Florida resident Abhishek Bhandari with one count of bringing and harbouring aliens, according to the court record.

Bhandari, a citizen of India with permanent U.S. residence status, was allegedly driving the Jeep SUV when agents pulled it over, according to court records.

Bhandari claimed he didn't know the identity of the person who hired him for the pick up, according to the record. He said he was recruited for the smuggling run in a manner resembling a spy novel.

He told agents an unexpected couriered parcel arrived at his Florida home with a cellular flip phone and $1,000 cash. The phone rang a few hours after it arrived and a voice told him he needed to pick up "the caller's family" in New York, according to Bhandari's statement.

Bhandari agreed to the arrangement and purchased a roundtrip plane ticket from Tampa, Fla., to New Jersey. He said a rented Jeep Wagoneer was waiting for him in a public parking area with the key in the centre console, and he was directed to a Walmart in Plattsburgh, N.Y. Plattsburgh sits about 35 km south of the Canada-U.S. border.

"Bhandari advised that he was instructed to leave the vehicle running and unlocked and then go into the store," said the court document. "Bhandari claims that when he returned there was a new cellphone inside."

The new phone rang and Bhandari said he was told to drive to an area of back roads along the Quebec-N.Y. state border west of Champlain, N.Y.

He told agents that he drove through the area until he heard people talking in the woods, so he stopped "and everyone ran out … and got into the vehicle."

Change in smuggling network tactics

The July 20 interception in an area of forests and farmlands south of Montreal, may also signal a shift in the tactics of networks that move Indian nationals following a fatal smuggling attempt across the St. Lawrence River in March.

A family of four Indian nationals and four Romanian nationals died attempting to cross the St. Lawrence River, through the territory of Akwesasne, a Haudenosaunee community that straddles the Canada-U.S. border about 120 km west of Montreal.

The route followed by the Indian nationals on July 20 has been used by networks moving Mexican nationals and other Central Americans over the past three years, according to court records and reporting by CBC News.

Most Indian nationals caught by U.S. Border Patrol and charged federally with illegal entry have been intercepted in and around Akwesasne over the past three years, according to U.S. federal court records.

Court records have also previously revealed that smuggling networks based in India co-ordinate with brokers in Canada who arrange smuggling runs with boat operators based in Akwesasne.

U.S. federal court records show that the majority of people caught crossing by land over the Quebec-N.Y.-Vermont borders are Mexican nationals, along with others from mainly Central American countries.

Previous CBC News reporting has revealed Mexico-linked human smuggling networks operating in cities like Toronto regularly arrange these types of overland smuggling runs through this area.