The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) have laid charges against two Montreal men after they were allegedly caught trying to smuggle people across the border into the United States on last year.
Marcos Chagolla Rojas, 39, and Lino Guerrero Martinez, 29, were charged with conspiracy to commit an offense in the United States, police said Tuesday.
An RCMP press release indicates that the two men were arrested on August 3 in East Pinnacle, near the border in the Eastern Townships, with a group of 11 people.
They must appear on February 19 at the Granby courthouse.
The announcement comes as the U.S. Border Patrol reports an increase in the number of people attempting to cross the border illegally from Canada.
The agency recently said agents from the Swanton Sector, which patrols Vermont, New Hampshire and northeastern New York, apprehended more than 3,100 people from 55 countries between October and early FEBRUARY.
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