Kevin Martin
Published: August 3, 2021
-Edmonton Sun
Smuggling a foreign national into Canada has landed a Calgary man a 15-month community-based sentence, including three months of house arrest.
In a news release issued Tuesday, the Canada Border Services Agency said Ismail Nababteh was handed the conditional sentence last month in New Westminster Supreme Court in B.C.
Nababteh was convicted of smuggling an individual into Canada from the U.S. on July 13, 2017, when he “facilitated, for profit, the entry into Canada of a foreign national,” the news release said.
“Nababteh smuggled the individual into Canada at a place other than a designated border crossing, in order to avoid the mandatory CBSA screening and reporting requirements.”
It was the second time Nababteh had been convicted of such an offence under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.
“At the time of the 2017 incident, Nababteh was on bail for charges related to a previous human smuggling incident that occurred in October 2016.
“He was later convicted of smuggling three individuals into Canada during the 2016 incident and sentenced to six months less one day imprisonment.”
CBSA said human smuggling sometimes involves dangerous conditions in which individuals, usually for cash, are assisted by a person or group to illegally cross an international border.
“The relationship between the person and the smuggler normally ends when the smuggled person arrives at their destination,” the news release said.
“The CBSA is committed to combating human smuggling, protecting vulnerable persons, and maintaining our border integrity. The agency works closely with its partners, including the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, to identify, investigate and prosecute those engaging in immigration fraud.”
