Canada Border Services Agency officers at the Carway port of entry captured a 47-year-old woman attempting to enter Canada in a concealed compartment of a truck on Tuesday.
According to CBSA officials, 63-year-old Richard James Watt approached the Canada-U.S. border crossing in his pickup truck. Officers examined the truck and determined the gas tank in the bed of the pickup was abnormal. An examination of the fuel tank, measuring 41 cm (16") high by 36 cm (14") deep by 168 cm (66") long, revealed a woman hidden inside.
The Canada Border Services Agency Criminal Investigation Unit has charged the driver and the stowaway in connection to the incident.
The stowaway, 47-year-old Mercie Maslog Lumacad of no fixed address, has been charged with failing to report for examination. Richard Watt, a resident of Colorado, faces a charge of aiding and abetting Lumacad’s failure to report for examination.
Watt and Lumacad are scheduled to appear in Lethbridge Provincial Court on Friday.
“I commend our officers for their diligence every day in identifying high-risk travellers and conducting in-depth examinations based on evidence at hand,” said Kim Scoville, CBSA Acting Regional Director General, Prairie Region. “This case demonstrates our commitment to preserving the security of our borders.”
Lisa White, CBSA spokesperson, says, while officers have encountered vehicle modifications for the smuggling of contraband substances, Monday’s incident is the first time officers in the Prairie Region have located a hidden compartment designed to bring humans illegally into Canada.
