A 22-year-old Indian national has pleaded guilty in the United States for his role in a ‘human smuggling’ operation that illegally brought migrants from Canada into the US through the northern border.

According to the US Justice Department, Shivam LNU admitted to helping organise the movement of migrants from India across the US-Canada border between October 2024 and June 2025.

How the smuggling operation worked 

Court documents released by the DOJ say Shivam coordinated drivers who picked up migrants after they crossed into the United States from Canada. The drivers allegedly transported the migrants into the country, taking them to stash houses in northern New York and hotels in Plattsburgh, New York. 

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Authorities said Shivam expected to be paid for his role in the operation. He also paid drivers for every person they smuggled across the border. One of the biggest incidents tied to the case happened on January 25, 2025. 

Prosecutors said Shivam directed a co-conspirator to smuggle 12 migrants from India and the United Kingdom into the United States from Canada. According to investigators, he paid the co-conspirator $100 for each migrant brought across the border.

The next day, on January 26, 2025, US Border Patrol agents tried to stop two vehicles travelling together near the US-Canada border. Instead of stopping, both vehicles sped away, leading officers on a chase.

Officials said one of the vehicles went off the road, while the second vehicle was later stopped in Mooers, New York. Authorities found 12 undocumented migrants inside the two vehicles.

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Charges and possible prison sentence

Shivam pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit migrant smuggling and three counts of smuggling for financial gain. He is scheduled to be sentenced on September 4.

Under US law, he faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison and could receive up to 15 years behind bars. A federal judge will decide the final punishment after reviewing sentencing guidelines and other legal factors. The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations in Rouses Point and the US Border Patrol Burke Station. 

Part of wider crackdown on human smuggling 

US officials said the case was handled under Joint Task Force Alpha, a special operation created to target large human smuggling and trafficking networks connected to cartels and transnational criminal organisations. 

The task force is a partnership between the US Justice Department and the Department of Homeland Security and focuses on smuggling operations affecting border security and public safety.