A New York woman has been charged with smuggling four people — three Indian nationals and one Canadian — into the U.S. from Canada, according to a U.S. Department of Justice press release.
“Stacey Taylor, 42, of Plattsburgh, New York, appeared for an arraignment Monday after a federal grand jury in Albany returned an indictment on Oct. 2 charging her for her role in an international alien smuggling conspiracy that brought aliens primarily from India into the United States across the northern border,” the press release read.
According to the release, Taylor’s vehicle was stopped by U.S. Border Patrol near Churubusco, New York on Jan. 20, near the Canada-U.S. border — just over 70 km away from the Island of Montreal.
U.S. Border Patrol found four individuals inside the vehicle, with the release noting they had crossed the border illegally and without inspection.
Upon further investigation, U.S. Border Patrol found text messages on Taylor’s phone indicating that she had been involved in multiple other smuggling events, including one in August and September of this year.
Taylor is charged with conspiring with others to engage in “alien smuggling,” and four counts of “alien smuggling” for profit. Three of the counts are second or subsequent offences, the release states.
She faces a mandatory minimum penalty of five years in prison per count of alien smuggling for profit, and additional time for second and subsequent offences, if convicted.
According to the release, the investigation is part of coordinated efforts from the Joint Task Force Alpha (JTFA), in partnership with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
The JTFA is a U.S. Department of Justice initiative mandated by the Attorney General to track transnational criminal organizations and cartels, and to stop human smuggling and trafficking networks operating near the U.S. northern and southern borders.