BELLINGHAM — Four people have been federally indicted by a grand jury in Seattle for their involvement in a human smuggling conspiracy to bring citizens of India into the United States across the U.S.-Canada border for profit, according to a Thursday afternoon U.S. Department of Justice press release.
The four people indicted have been linked to two smuggling events that occurred in November and December near Peace Arch Park in Blaine involving eight citizens of India, according to the DOJ press release.
The four people indicted are Rajat Rajat, 26, of Santa Rosa, Calif.; Sushil Kumar, 35, also of Santa Rosa; Bobby Joe Green, 67, also of Santa Rosa; and Sneha, 20, an Indian citizen who is in the U.S. on a student visa and goes by only her last name.
Rajat was arrested in Chicago; Kumar and Green were arrested in Santa Rosa; and Sneha was arrested in Renton, Wash., and released on an appearance bond, the press release states.
All four were indicted and charged with one count of conspiracy to bring in and transport noncitizens for profit, eight counts of bringing a noncitizen into the U.S. at a place other than a designated Port of Entry and eight counts of attempted illegal transportation of a noncitizen for financial gain. All of the charges are punishable by up to 10 years in prison, according to the release.
On Nov. 27, a motion-activated camera caught multiple people jumping a fence near the Boundary Village apartments in Blaine, roughly a quarter-mile east from Peace Arch Historical State Park.
United States Border Patrol, a division of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, saw five people run to a white minivan. Border patrol officers stopped the van, which was driven by Green and was found to have five Indian citizens inside.
A federal investigation revealed Kumar and Rajat had directed the Indian citizens on where and how to cross the U.S. border. The investigation also revealed that Rajat paid Green to transport the Indian citizens from the border, the release states.
Rajat also asked the Indian citizens for payment for being smuggled into the U.S., according to the release.
In December, Rajat contacted three Indian citizens who were in Peace Arch Park and directed them on how to cross through the park. Rajat also told them to get into a car driven by Sneha.
The car was later stopped, and the Indian citizens were interviewed. During the interview, the Indian citizens allegedly told investigators they had promised to pay money to be smuggled into the U.S., according to the DOJ.
Rajat was later picked up near the border after Sneha and the Indian citizens were taken into federal custody, the release states.
The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s law enforcement arm, and the U.S. Border Patrol.
The four people indicted will be taken to Seattle for their arraignments in federal court in the coming weeks, according to the release.
