Romanians with organized crime ties among 20 nabbed at US-Canadian border

A group of 20 Romanian nationals — including two with organized crime ties — were nabbed Tuesday after illegally entering the U.S. from the Canadian border, authorities say. 

Border Patrol agents apprehended the subjects after four vehicles were observed crossing the international boundary from Canada into the United States, according to a press release from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). 

Agents were alerted to the illegal crossing just after 6 a.m., and responded to the area on Lincoln Road in Hodgdon, a rural town in northeastern Maine, along the Canadian border. 

Border Patrol agents stopped the vehicles using emergency equipment, CBP says. The subjects were transported to Fort Fairfield Station for processing. 

The processing revealed that the subjects were from Romania. Most of them were family members, including 10 adults and 10 juveniles. Two of the subjects processed were revealed to have ties to transnational organized crime, CBP says. 

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Acting Chief Patrol Agent in Charge Dennis Harmon said there has been an overall rise in apprehensions in the Houlton Sector. 

“In the last three Octobers, Houlton Sector encountered a total of 33 individuals,” Harmon said. “In fiscal year 2024 alone, we’ve encountered 53.” 

Fox News Digital has reached out to CBP for further details on the apprehension. 

The apprehension after a Romanian national was indicted last week for attempting to smuggle six Romanian nationals into the U.S. via the Washington-Canadian border. 

Federal prosecutors say Ionel Niculae was arrested near Lynden, Washington at an accident scene where the car he was driving flipped over, injuring three passengers.