U.S. Grand Jury Indicts 22-Year-Old Indian National in Alleged Canada–New York Smuggling Scheme

Overview

• A federal grand jury in the Northern District of New York returned the indictment on Jan. 28, 2026, and the Justice Department announced it on Jan. 29.
• Shivam Lnu is charged with one count of conspiracy and four counts of illegally bringing people for private financial gain, carrying up to 10 years per count and a five-year mandatory minimum if convicted on all four smuggling-for-profit counts.
• Agents on Jan. 26, 2025, pursued two tandem vehicles near the northern border, later recovering 12 undocumented people after one car was immobilized and the other was stopped in Mooers, New York.
• Court filings describe WhatsApp communications tying a driver to a number linked to Shivam, including proof-of-life photographs and directions to safe houses in upstate New York.
• The investigation is led by Joint Task Force Alpha with HSI, U.S. Border Patrol, and CBP support; an earlier criminal complaint was filed on June 13, 2025, and the defendant is presumed innocent.