A Manitoba judge has handed a U.S. citizen a nearly three-year prison sentence after he admitted to smuggling a man into Canada near the Emerson border crossing. Sahil Aziz, a 33-year-old from New York, pleaded guilty to human smuggling and offences under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and the Customs Act, after helping a man from Pakistan walk across the Canada-U.S. border into Manitoba last year. "All in all, it was clear that this was a premeditated human smuggling event," Sinclair said. In accepting the joint recommendation, the judge said human smuggling is a serious offence that requires strong deterrence. Aziz received two years for human smuggling and a consecutive 10-month sentence for the Customs Act offence.

Source: CBC News March 20, 2026 14:30 UTC