How a Canadian trucker used a refrigerated produce trailer to smuggle people into the U.S.

A Canadian truck driver has been sentenced to three years in an American prison after pleading guilty to using the refrigerated trailer of his semi-truck to smuggle people into the U.S. in exchange for money.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers arrested Husain Al Kawwaz after surveillance video appeared to show he let 10 Vietnamese citizens out of his trailer in Michigan after it left Windsor, Ont., and crossed the Ambassador Bridge around midnight on Aug. 7, 2024.

Kawwaz, a Canadian citizen with two young children, lives in Leamington, Ont. Since his arrest, he's admitted those weren't the only people he smuggled into the U.S., according to court documents filed in U.S. District Court in Detroit.

He told CBP officers the total number is somewhere between 35 and 99 individuals, and he was paid $500 for each person he successfully got across the border. 

Court documents do not say who paid Kawwaz or what happened to the 10 people brought across the border along with his produce shipment. 

"These crimes not only violate our nation's immigration laws, but also endanger the lives of vulnerable individuals who are often subject to dangerous and inhumane conditions," said a CBP spokesperson in an emailed statement to CBC News. 

"The recent guilty plea of Husain Al Kawwaz for his human smuggling attempt at the Ambassador Bridge – Fort Street cargo facility is a testament to the dedication of our CBP officers who work tirelessly to disrupt criminal networks that seek to exploit our borders for profit."

'Inhumane' actions motivated by greed: court docs

Kawwaz, through his lawyer, Remond Atie, told the court he is "deeply regretful of the bad decision that he made."

He said Kawwaz "understands that the transport of humans in a refrigerator truck is inhumane and could have resulted in even greater devastation."

Atie did not reply to a request for comment from CBC News.

The prosecution had told the court that "out of greed, and maybe desperation, [Kawwaz] made some very bad decisions" in agreeing to smuggle people into the U.S. from Canada. 

In a plea agreement in October, Kawwaz pleaded guilty to alien smuggling for commercial advantage, while a charge of alien smuggling — failure to present was dismissed.

Kawwaz had been facing a maximum sentence of 10 years, but instead will serve the three years in an American federal prison. He'll be deported back to Canada after he's freed. 

Locked people in a refrigerated trailer

In a criminal complaint filed to the court, a CBP officer said Kawwaz told them he was approached at a truck stop in Windsor with an offer to smuggle people across the border into the United States.

Kawwaz would pick people up in the southwestern Ontario city, lock them in the refrigerated trailer of his semi-truck, and then cross the border into Detroit, according to the court documents. 

Once he made it across and returned to Canada, Kawwaz would be paid. 

Border officers directed Kawwaz to pull his truck into secondary inspection at the bridge the night he was caught. 

According to the court documents, U.S. border officers wanted to inspect Kawwaz's produce and X-ray his trailer, which took about an hour to complete.

While his vehicle was being inspected, officers found the 10 people hiding in the secondary inspection parking lot near where his rig was parked. 

As officers tried to figure out where the 10 people without proper documentation came from, Kawwaz was allowed to leave the secondary inspection parking lot and carry out his delivery. 

But after officers reviewed security video and discovered the 10 were let out of the refrigerated trailer by Kawwaz, he was ordered back to the facility through dispatch and arrested.

Kawaaz owned and operated his own commercial semi-truck and trailer, which was licensed to operate in Canada. The semi-truck has logos for Topline Farms on the side. 

A spokesperson for Topline, a greenhouse grower in Leamington, declined to comment when contacted by CBC News.