SEATTLE (KONP staff) – A 48-year-old Elk Grove, California man was arrested this week in Lacey, Washington, and was charged with running a human smuggling scheme over the border with Canada and into Washington State. Rajinder Singh, aka Jaspal Gill, has been detained since his arrest at the Federal Detention Center at SeaTac.
According to the criminal complaint, Singh and his co-conspirators used the ride share app Uber to transport people who had illegally crossed the border to the Seattle area.
In some instances, Singh arranged for rental cars to drive those who entered the U.S. illegally to destinations in the mid-west. More recently Singh purchased airline tickets so that his smuggling customers could be flown to other parts of the country.
The smuggling scheme has been underway since at least 2018. In all, the investigation estimates that 17 Uber accounts tied to this smuggling ring ran up more than $75,000 in charges.
Singh charged as much as $11,500 per person.
In addition to the arrest in Lacey, law enforcement searched Singh’s Elk Grove, California, home. They found about $30,000 in cash as well as counterfeit identity documents.