Man Pleads Guilty to Canada-US Migrant Smuggling

Photo Credit: THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP/Julia Demaree Nikhinson via CP24

Shivam Lnu has pleaded guilty in US federal court to charges regarding his involvement in an illegal trafficking ring smuggling Indian migrants across the Canada-United States border. According to the US Department of Justice (DOJ), Lnu pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit alien smuggling and three counts of alien smuggling for financial gain.

His court sentencing is scheduled for Sep. 4, with a mandatory minimum penalty of five years in prison. As per court documents, Lnu was involved in operations from October 2024 to June 2025.

“WhatsApp messages between one of the drivers and a number connected to [Lnu] allegedly revealed coordination of smuggling illegal aliens into the US from Canada on numerous occasions,” said the DOJ in a news release.  

On Jan. 25, Lnu instructed his co-conspirator to smuggle 12 migrants from India and the UK across the Canadian border to the US. Lnu paid his co-conspirator $100 USD for each person transported.

The following day, US Border Patrol agents attempted to stop two vehicles near the border, each transporting 12 undocumented immigrants. Both vehicles accelerated to avoid the agents, resulting in one vehicle being immobilized after it veered off the road. The other one was stopped in Mooers, New York.