A fourth man has been arrested in connection with what police allege was the illegal entry of 44 people into Canada earlier this month near Stanstead, Que.
The RCMP say 34-year-old Tolga Yilmaz was taken into custody Aug. 8 at Montreal’s Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport by officers with a joint RCMP–Canada Border Services Agency team based in Valleyfield, Que., as he was preparing to leave the country.
Police allege Yilmaz was involved in the Aug. 3 incident in which 44 people were intercepted after entering Canada illegally in a cube truck.
He faces two smuggling-related charges under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and the Customs Act, the same charges laid against three men arrested at the scene — Ogulcan Mersin, Dogan Alakus and Firat Yuksek — who appeared in a Sherbrooke, Que., courtroom soon after their arrest.
Yilmaz appeared in court on Saturday and remains in custody pending further proceedings. Police say the investigation is ongoing and more charges may be laid.
The RCMP says it is also looking into whether other recent incidents are connected.
On Sunday, officers in the Valleyfield region arrested two men — 25-year-old Can Volkan and 27-year-old Kurey Recep — who are accused of trying to smuggle 11 foreign nationals.
The CBSA says both men have also been charged under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and the Customs Act, and appeared by videoconference at the Valleyfield courthouse.
Police say they are investigating whether the six accused men are linked.
The RCMP and CBSA say human smuggling is a lucrative global criminal activity that endangers lives, fuels organized crime and undermines national security.
Canadian law makes it a criminal offence to induce, aid or abet someone to enter the country knowing, or wilfully ignoring, that the entry is illegal, the release says.
