U.S. agents arrest human smugglers near Canadian border

NEW YORK (FOX5NY.COM) - U.S. Border Patrol agents responding to a report of several people on foot crossing the border from Canada in northern New York late Sunday night arrested several undocumented foreign nationals, authorities said.

The agents had just watched a dark-colored vehicle pick up several men near the Chateaugay Port of Entry in Franklin County, make a U-turn, and then drive away from the border, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

Agents then pulled over the vehicle and found Marco Serrano-Rivera, 32, and Marlin Reyes-Lopez, 26, both Honduran citizens, in the front seats. Neither has permission to be in the U.S., officials said.

Five men from Guatemala were also in the vehicle, CBP said. None of them had immigration documents.

The agents arrested and charged Serrano-Rivera and Reyes-Lopez with alien smuggling, a felony. The Guatemalan men face misdemeanor illegal entry charges.

"The quick response by the agents resulted in the apprehension of two alien smugglers and five illegal aliens," Patrol Agent in Charge Dennis O'Neill said. "I'm proud of the vigilance U.S. Border Patrol agents display every day to keep our border secure and our country safe."

The border agents brought all the men to the Burke Border Patrol Station for record checks and processing.