RCMP arrest eight in Montreal, Brampton in human smuggling investigation

The RCMP arrested 8 people in Quebec and Ontario as part of an investigation into a smuggling ring that allegedly transported migrants across the U.S. border.

MONTREAL — The RCMP arrested eight people in Quebec and Ontario early Thursday as part of an investigation targeting a smuggling ring that allegedly transported migrants across the U.S. border.

RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Martina Pillarova says five men and one woman were arrested in Montreal and another two men were arrested in Brampton, Ont. All the suspects are between 20 and 30 years old.

The operations were carried out by 100 RCMP officers in the two provinces, as well as officers with Peel Regional Police. Law enforcement raided two homes in Montreal and one in Brampton.

Pillarova says one of the homes in Montreal is believed to have been used as a "stash house" to keep migrants before they were smuggled into the United States from Quebec. She said the smuggling ring offered their services on Instagram and WhatsApp.

Citing the ongoing investigation, Pillarova declined to say where the migrants were from or whether any migrants were found during the raids.

"We'll continue with the investigation, and the people that were arrested will be taken into Canada Border Services Agency custody," she said, adding that the suspects could face human smuggling-related charges and removal from Canada.

In December, Ottawa said it would beef up border security amid threats from U.S. President Donald Trump to impose hefty tariffs if Canada didn’t address what he said was a flood of migrants and fentanyl across the border into the United States.

Last summer, the RCMP announced that it had dismantled a smuggling ring that was connected to the deaths of eight migrants who drowned in the St. Lawrence River while trying to cross illegally into the United States in March 2023.

However, Pillarova would not comment on whether the suspected smuggling network targeted in Thursday's investigation was in any way related to previous smuggling activities in Quebec or Ontario.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 20, 2025.

Joe Bongiorno, The Canadian Press