Documents show couple charged with human smuggling
The husband of a Canadian woman charged with human smuggling is one of three people authorities in the United States have arrested as part of the investigation.
Court documents signed by border agents say Victor Omoruyi, a Canadian citizen, was arrested April 14 after an SUV was stopped south of the North Dakota-Saskatchewan border.
The documents say Omoruyi entered the U.S. that afternoon and told border officers he was going to meet friends and shop in Minot N.D. He said he planned to return to Canada the next day.
According to the affidavit, border patrol has documented multiple instances over the last several months in which Nigerian nationals were smuggled into Canada illegally from North Dakota.
“Law enforcement learned through the investigation that the individuals pay up to $2,000 USD to be smuggled into Canada,” it says.
The documents say authorities started watching Omoruyi because they allege he was identified “as a human smuggler that has previously provided transportation ... for individuals who have then entered into Canada illegally.”
The court papers detail how border agents followed Omoruyi for several hours on April 14, watched him meet up with another man at a hotel and saw him drive around a mall parking lot.
Two men went back to the hotel where five adults and four children got into the vehicle, a few at a time, the documents say.
The SUV stopped for gas before heading north toward the border, at which point a U.S. border agent called the RCMP.
The documents say photos of Omoruyi, his vehicle and his passengers were captured by border patrol surveillance cameras in an area of open farm fields near the border.
“Omoruyi was clearly seen stopping his vehicle, exiting from the driver’s seat and opening rear doors. All other occupants then exited the vehicle. Omoruyi appeared to help the children exit the vehicle. Once all of the passengers were out of the vehicle, Omoruyi got back into the driver’s seat and departed the same way he arrived,”