A man who was caught trying to cross the border with a pair of fugitives hiding in his back seat will be sentenced next month in Surrey Provincial Court after pleading guilty to human smuggling.
According to a statement issued Monday by the Canada Border Services Agency, Dylan Richard McBee was arrested at the Douglas (Peace Arch) border on March 19, after a man and a woman were found hiding under blankets in his vehicle.
McBee had told the border officer that he was travelling alone. The hidden travellers – reportedly connected to an April 2014 shooting of a Portland police officer and his K-9 partner – were found during a secondary search of the vehicle. One was carrying a knife; both refused to exit the vehicle.
The pair were eventually talked out of the vehicle, arrested and returned to the U.S. on outstanding warrants.
McBee pleaded guilty on May 11 and is scheduled to be sentenced on July 27.
The incident was one of two highlighted by the CBSA from May enforcement efforts in the Pacific Highway District, which includes the Douglas and Pacific Highway border crossings.
The second occurred May 22 at the Douglas border, when officers found a sub-compact, semi-automatic pistol in a "concealment-style holster" under some clothing in a northbound vehicle. The driver did not initially declare a firearm, but admitted to having one during a more in-depth examination.
Nathon Styles Smith faces charges of smuggling, making false statements, possession of a prohibited firearm and unauthorized possession of a firearm. He was to appear in Surrey Provincial Court on Tuesday (June 30), after Peace Arch News' press deadline.
In all, CBSA officers in the Pacific Highway District made eight firearms, seven weapons and 94 narcotics seizures in May. More than 600 travelers were denied entry to Canada.