After arriving in Montreal from Winnipeg, the Chaudhari family stepped into a waiting grey minivan allegedly driven by a key figure in a human smuggling network—an operation that would ultimately lead to their deaths, according to court records obtained by CBC News.
RCMP surveillance units followed the grey Dodge Caravan as it took a Highway 401 exit, stopping briefly at an Esso gas station in South Lancaster, Ont., before transporting the family to Martin’s Inn in Cornwall, Ont. Surveillance footage captured them entering Room 6 on the night of March 23, 2023.
Six days later, father Pravinbhai, 49, mother Dakshaben, 45, daughter Vidhiben, 23, and son Mitkumar, 20, drowned in the St. Lawrence River alongside four members of a Romanian family and a boat operator in a failed human smuggling attempt into the U.S.
Montreal airport surveillance cameras recorded the Indian family entering the Dodge Caravan driven by an alleged smuggler. Their bodies were recovered from the St. Lawrence River on March 30 and 31, 2023.
At the time, the RCMP’s Integrated Border Enforcement Team was building a case against the suspected leader of the smuggling network, Thesingarasan Rasiah, and his alleged main driver and bagman, Joel Portillo, the registered owner of the Dodge Caravan.
RCMP investigators had been tracking Portillo’s van and gathering intelligence from foreign nationals detained after failed smuggling runs. Court records, including affidavits sworn by an RCMP officer, were part of filings known as an Information to Obtain (ITO), used to secure warrants.
The RCMP investigation, which began in 2022, intensified its focus on Rasiah in early 2023. At the time of the river deaths, police surveillance had already observed the two families in the hands of the smuggling network. Investigators later matched the Indian family’s clothing in news photos with surveillance footage from Montreal airport and identified the Romanian family in March 27 footage from a Cornwall Super 8 motel.
“I believe that these deaths have aggravated the conspiracy charge as a result of this event,” RCMP Cpl. John Snider stated in an affidavit dated April 14, 2023. However, at that time, investigators lacked sufficient evidence to pursue criminal negligence causing death charges.
Rasiah and Portillo face multiple charges, including conspiracy to break U.S. alien smuggling laws, which have a Canadian equivalent under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. Both remain in custody, awaiting their next court date on February 13.
The ITOs do not provide additional details about the Chaudhari family’s movements after checking into Martin’s Inn. However, CBC News previously reported that the family allegedly paid $100,000 to be smuggled into the U.S., with arrangements made through an intermediary in Canada. They were moved between locations with little food or water.
The Romanian family—father Florin Iordache, mother Cristina, and their two Canadian children, Evelin, 2, and Elyen, 16 months—reportedly paid between $10,000 and $15,000 to an individual named Babuchi, who allegedly facilitated smuggling operations.
Between August 2022 and June 2023, Rasiah’s network attempted to smuggle more than 100 people across the Canada-U.S. border. About 45 were successfully transported, while authorities intercepted 31 individuals. Financial records show $1.4 million moved through accounts controlled by Rasiah and his deceased wife, and $384,000 in cash was seized from his Montreal home.
Investigators believe Rasiah was linked to a larger international smuggling network that used routes from Mexico into the U.S. before moving migrants into Canada. His operation primarily focused on smuggling people southbound into the U.S. through Portillo, who allegedly transported migrants from Montreal to Cornwall before they were ferried to Cornwall Island, part of Akwesasne, a Haudenosaunee community spanning the Canada-U.S. border.
Akwesasne’s complex jurisdictional landscape, with roads crisscrossing the border outside the control of Canadian or U.S. authorities, has long been used for smuggling operations. In the past, the region facilitated illicit tobacco trade, later becoming a corridor for human smuggling. Rasiah reportedly employed local boat pilots to transport migrants across the St. Lawrence River, with at least one waterfront property owner allegedly profiting from the traffic.
Portillo allegedly coordinated drivers to pick up smuggled migrants on the U.S. side, transporting them to destinations like Plattsburgh, NY.
The ITOs link Rasiah and Portillo to three Akwesasne residents—Stephanie Square, Janet Terrance, and Dakota Montour—charged by U.S. authorities in connection with the March 2023 river deaths. A U.S. federal indictment resulted from a parallel investigation involving the FBI and Homeland Security Investigations.
Terrance’s black Dodge SUV was recorded on surveillance two days before the river deaths, allegedly transporting the Romanian family. She was released on conditions in August 2024, with a trial date set for April 21.
Montour, who pleaded guilty in U.S. federal court on January 23, admitted to transporting the Romanian family to Cornwall Island and was allegedly waiting to pick up both families on the southern shore of the St. Lawrence River on the night of the tragedy. The plea agreement states that the deaths should be considered an aggravating factor in his sentencing.
Square was allegedly involved in at least one smuggling run orchestrated by Rasiah. Surveillance and testimony place her at a Cornwall motel in January 2023, where she reportedly received an envelope from a group of Indian migrants before they were smuggled across the river.
On May 2, 2023, after the river deaths, surveillance captured Square with four smuggled Southeast Asian individuals, later transferred to Portillo’s van and allegedly taken to Rasiah’s home. Square is currently in custody in Quebec, facing a U.S. extradition request related to the deadly smuggling operation.
The Cornwall RCMP declined to comment on specifics, citing ongoing court proceedings, but stated, “The RCMP is committed to being transparent, and Canadians deserve to know the truth surrounding this issue.”
Source: Swifteradio.com
