Akwesasne man pleads guilty in smuggling case that left 9 dead in St. Lawrence River

A 35-year-old man has pleaded guilty in the United States for his role in a human smuggling conspiracy that led to the deaths of nine people, including two children under the age of three, in the St. Lawrence River.

According to court documents, Timothy Oakes was a key facilitator in a human smuggling organization that escorted migrants from Canada into northern New York. Oakes is from Akwesasne, a Haudenosaunee territory that straddles the Canada-U.S. border, 120 kilometres west of Montreal.

According to a news release from the U.S. Department of Justice, Oakes routinely smuggled migrants into the U.S. by piloting boats across the St. Lawrence River. Additionally, Oakes used his home on Ontario’s Cornwall Island as a safe house before bringing migrants across the border, earning approximately $1,000 per person.

The organization routinely moved migrants from countries such as Romania and India. The groups would often stay in hotels in Cornwall, Ont., before being transported to the border area of the Haudenosaunee territory.

Other members of the organization would then transport the migrants by boat over the St. Lawrence River to drivers who took them farther into New York. Oakes’s role was to provide the safe house and sometimes transport the migrants by boat across the river, the news release says.

On the night of March 29, 2023, Oakes transported a family of four Romanian nationals to a public boat launch on the tip of Cornwall Island. At approximately 9:30 p.m., Oakes left his boat and the family for his brother Casey Oakes to use for the crossing.

While in transit, the boat capsized in severe weather. The Romanian family and Casey Oakes died; the bodies of four Indian nationals were also recovered from the river following the crossing attempt. Timothy Oakes proceeded with the transport despite being aware of dangerous conditions, including high winds and freezing temperatures, the news release says.

Oakes pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit alien smuggling, four counts of alien smuggling for financial gain and four counts of alien smuggling resulting in death.

His sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 11, and he faces a minimum penalty of five years and a maximum penalty of life in prison.

Several other co-conspirators have already entered guilty pleas for their involvement in the smuggling operation. Additionally, multiple individuals were extradited from Canada to the U.S. to face charges and are currently awaiting trial.