A group of 20 Romanian nationals – including two with organized crime ties – were captured Tuesday after illegally entering the US from the Canadian border, authorities said.
Border Patrol agents arrested the subjects after observing four vehicles crossing the international border from Canada into the United States, according to a press release from US Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
The Romanian nationals were observed by Border Patrol agents crossing into the US in vehicles on Tuesday morning. (US Border Patrol Houlton Sector)
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 said. The subjects were transported to the Fort Fairfield Station for processing.
Processing revealed that the subjects were from Romania. Most of them were family members, including 10 adults and 10 youths. Two of the subjects processed were found to be related to transnational organized crime, CBP said.
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Acting Chief Patrol Agent in Charge Dennis Harmon said there has been a general increase in apprehensions in the Houlton Sector.
“In the last three Octobers, the Houlton Sector has encountered a total of 33 individuals,” Harmon said. “In fiscal year 2024 alone, we encountered 53.”
Illegal citizens were spotted in vehicles in Hodgdon, Maine, near the Canadian border. (US Border Patrol Houlton Sector)
Fox News Digital has reached out to CBP for more details on the scare.
The arrest comes after a Romanian national was indicted last week for attempting to smuggle six Romanian nationals into the US through the Washington-Canadian border.
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Federal prosecutors said Ionel Niculae was arrested near Lynden, Washington at the scene of an accident where the car he was driving overturned, injuring three passengers.
