New York-based Stacey Taylor has been indicted for her role in an international smuggling conspiracy that allegedly involved bringing Indian nationals into the United States via Canada.
The 42-year-old from Plattsburgh appeared for arraignment this week after a federal grand jury in Albany returned an October indictment, the US Department of Justice said.
Court records cited in a PTI report say US Border Patrol agents, along with officers from Joint Task Force Alpha (JTFA) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), stopped Taylor’s vehicle in the Churubusco area near the Quebec border in January. Four foreign men—three Indian nationals and one Canadian national—were found inside the vehicle attempting to cross the US–Canada border without inspection.
Investigators also recovered text messages indicating Taylor’s involvement in multiple other smuggling attempts in the days before her January arrest. Since that arrest, she has been identified in another smuggling case as recently as September.
The October indictment charges Taylor with conspiring with others to engage in alien smuggling and with four counts of alien smuggling for profit; three of those counts are alleged second or subsequent offenses.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew Galeotti said Taylor faces mandatory penalties of at least five years’ imprisonment for each count of alien smuggling for profit, with additional time possible for second or subsequent offenses.
The DOJ noted that Taylor’s arrest was part of JTFA’s “Operation Take Back America,” a nationwide initiative using DOJ resources to combat illegal immigration and related criminal activity.
