Man arrested for deadly immigrant smuggling operation that killed Romanian family of four and his own brother

A dual U S -Canadian citizen was arrested last month for his alleged role in an attempt to smuggle a Romanian family of four into the United States which left them dead including two young children Timothy Oakes from the Akwesasne Mohawk Indian Reservation AMIR in Canada was arrested on June while trying to enter the U S via the Massena New York port of entry the Justice Department commented He is charged with conspiring with others to engage in alien smuggling four counts of alien smuggling for profit and four counts of alien smuggling resulting in death He appeared in a federal court on Tuesday and was ordered held HUMAN GUIDES SENTENCED IN HORRIFIC TEXAS TRUCK DEATHS OF MIGRANTSHis U S -based co-conspirators Dakota Montour and Kawisiiostha Celecia Sharrow both of Akwesasne-Mohawk New York and Janet Terrance of Hogansburg New York have all entered guilty pleas Oakes and his co-conspirators profited from a human smuggling operation with a singular cold-hearted aim making money by bringing illegal aliens into the United States regardless of the danger to human life involved commented Matthew Galeotti head of the Justice Department s Criminal Division Their greed resulted in the deaths of a mother a father and two small children as well as one of the defendants own brothers Oakes smuggled illegal immigrants from Canada into northern New York using boats to get across the St Lawrence River federal prosecutors announced KNIFE-WIELDING ILLEGAL MIGRANT ACCUSED OF THREATENING US ATTORNEY ON ALBANY NY STREETSHe earned per person functionaries declared In March Oakes housed a Romanian family of four together with other aliens for about hours before allegedly taking them on his boat in an attempt to illegally bring them into the U S Oakes his brother Casey and the Romanian family were on the vessel when it capsized killing the family including two children under the age of and his brother Two toddler-aged children and their parents were the tragic casualties of an alien smuggling attempt gone horribly wrong reported Chief Patrol Agent Robert Garcia of the U S Territory line Patrol s Swanton Sector Their deaths were a direct product of callous handlers who exploited the vulnerable Terrance Montour and Sharrow admitted in their plea agreements that they were employed to illegally travel the Romanian family a mother father -year-old boy and -year-old girl from Canada into New York Montour admitted that he was aware of the dangerous weather conditions on the day of the smuggling attempt high winds freezing temperatures and limited visibility the Justice Department explained