Indian leads Guilty In U.S.-Canada Human Smuggling Case

India-West News Desk

NEW YORK- An Indian national has pleaded guilty in federal court for his leadership role in a network that smuggled undocumented individuals from India and the United Kingdom into the United States via the Canadian border.

According to Department of Justice court documents, 22-year-old Shivam LNU admitted to directing the smuggling operations from October 2024 through June 2025. Operating within the Northern District of New York, his role was to coordinate hired drivers to pick up migrants at the border and transport them further into the United States, specifically to stash houses around Northern New York and to hotels in Plattsburgh, New York.

Federal authorities revealed that the network was intercepted following a vehicle pursuit on January 26, 2025, when U.S. Border Patrol agents attempted to stop two vehicles traveling in tandem near the border. Both vehicles accelerated to avoid agents, triggering a pursuit that left one vehicle immobilized off the road and the second stopped in Mooers, New York. Agents discovered a total of 12 illegal migrants inside the vehicles.

Court records state that Shivam had directed a co-conspirator to smuggle these 12 individuals from Canada into the United States the previous day, paying the co-conspirator $100 per person.

Shivam pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit alien smuggling and three counts of alien smuggling for financial gain. He faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and a maximum of 15 years in prison at his formal sentencing scheduled for September 4.