Toronto/CMEDIAIn an attempt to reportedly illegally cross the border, an individual recently jumped off a moving freight train as it entered Canada, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) said.
The border authority said in a news release issued Wednesday that the incident happened somewhere in the Niagara Region
CBSA and RCMP officers arrested the individual when they attempted to flee in Fort Erie, Ont.
With a focus on gathering intelligence related to irregular migration and disrupting organized human smuggling operations, the CBSA launched in December 2024, Project Disrupt and Deter, an intelligence initiative aimed at monitoring vulnerable areas along the International Railway Bridge in the Niagara region.
This incident was described by the officials as an attempt in human smuggling, and two other individuals were also taken into custody for questioning.
After assessment by the Canada-U.S. Safe Third Country Agreement, the individual was found to be inadmissible to Canada, said the CBSA, and returned to the U.S.
This incident of the illegal border crossing was a result of Project Disrupt and Deter, launched in December which monitors “vulnerable” areas along the International Railway Bridge connecting Canada to the U.S., the CBSA said.
Niagara’s Project Disrupt and Deter is part of a larger initiative dubbed Project Northstar, a national intelligence and enforcement strategy. Project Northstar positions the CBSA and the RCMP to develop early warning and monitoring to respond to any increases in irregular northbound movements whether by port of entry or between the ports.
“In line with the Government of Canada’s Border Plan, these projects enable the targeting and disruption of organized crime groups facilitating illegal border crossing, and advance Canada’s ongoing efforts to strengthen border security and immigration integrity,” the CBSA said.
“In Canada, border security and integrity is a shared mandate between the CBSA and the RCMP. The CBSA is responsible for enforcement at 1,200 ports of entry across the country, while the RCMP is responsible for enforcement between ports of entry. The results of these joint operations aimed at dismantling organized human smuggling efforts strengthens enforcement and security along the Canada-U.S. border” said today’s news release.
