A 25-year-old Brampton man is facing criminal charges after allegedly ramming an RCMP vehicle and injuring an officer during a migrant smuggling investigation near the Canada-U.S. border in Quebec.<\/p>\n
The incident happened on the night of June 2 in the Noyan area of Quebec\u2019s Mont\u00e9r\u00e9gie region after the Royal Canadian Mounted Police received information from the United States Border Patrol that five people had illegally crossed into Canada.<\/p>\n
According to the RCMP, officers with the Integrated Border Enforcement Team (IBET) launched a search operation and identified a vehicle allegedly being used to transport the migrants.<\/p>\n
Police say an officer attempted to stop the vehicle, but the driver refused to pull over and instead deliberately drove into the door of the police cruiser.<\/p>\n
The collision injured the officer before the suspect allegedly fled the scene.<\/p>\n
RCMP later arrested Chetan Kumar, 25, of Brampton, who has been charged with assaulting a peace officer, dangerous operation of a motor vehicle and failure to stop after an accident.<\/p>\n
The five migrants were arrested under the Customs Act and later turned over to the Canada Border Services Agency.<\/p>\n
The condition of the injured officer has not been released.<\/p>\n
The RCMP said the investigation was carried out by its Champlain Detachment Integrated Border Enforcement Team, which works with Canadian and American law enforcement agencies to combat illegal cross-border activity.<\/p>\n
Police describe human smuggling as a profitable criminal enterprise that facilitates the illegal movement of people across international borders for financial gain.<\/p>\n