A Winnipeg man arrested for human smuggling last year is back in custody accused of trafficking more migrants while he was on bail.
Abdi Ali, 31, was denied bail Monday by provincial court Judge Margaret Wiebe.
“Mr. Ali was already released on conditions, and he flagrantly ignored the condition to remain in Winnipeg and was found at the border in the company of illegal migrants,” Wiebe said. “I fail to see how he can be trusted on another form of release.”
Court heard Ali was driving north from the area of the Emerson border crossing, headed to Winnipeg, when RCMP pulled him over for speeding on Feb. 22, 2024.
Eight foreign nationals, all with passports from the Republic of Chad, were in Ali’s van.
Police released Ali with a warning, but after learning he had been a suspect in two smuggling incidents in the area, followed him to Winnipeg, where he was arrested that same day.
Questioned by police, Ali, who was found in possession of $2,300 in U.S. currency, claimed he had picked up the passengers in Blumenort, where they had been staying for 15 days in a farmer’s shed.
Court documents filed in a civil forfeiture proceeding say Ali told police he was an Uber driver and was taking his passengers to a shelter.
The migrants told police a different story, indicating they had paid to be driven by taxi or Uber from Minneapolis to the border, where they spent hours walking through the snow before Ali picked them up.
“The migrants believed this was pre-arranged,” Wiebe said.
The migrants said Ali told them if they were questioned by police, to say they had spent 15 days in a shed.
“They were afraid not to tell the story as they were afraid Ali would leave them behind,” Wiebe said.
Changes to the Canada-U.S. Safe Third Country Agreement made in 2023 mean people who enter either country between ports of entry are to be turned back if found within 14 days of their arrival.
Ali was released on bail that included a condition he not leave Winnipeg without permission of the court.
On Dec. 1, RCMP received a tip about another suspected smuggling incident in the Morden area after footprints were spotted in the snow in a field, heading north. Police searched the area and found Ali driving a van with several illegal migrants inside.
The Crown opposed Ali’s release on bail, arguing he was likely connected to an organized crime operation, posed a serious flight risk, and that his release would bring the justice system into disrepute.
Crown attorney Dan Manning highlighted the extreme danger of human smuggling, citing the case of an Indian husband and wife and their two young children who froze to death walking into the U.S. from Manitoba during a blizzard in January 2022.
Defence lawyer Amado Claros said Ali, a recent refugee from Somalia, had fought hard to come to Canada and would do nothing to jeopardize his status here.
Claros argued there was no evidence tying Ali to organized crime or that the migrants had paid Ali.
Wiebe said she took “no comfort” in Ali’s agreement to wear an ankle bracelet if released on bail, and that the case against him appeared “fairly strong.”
“While I appreciate the challenges Mr. Ali will bring to trial, it appears he has been found not once, but twice in the company of illegal migrants who have crossed the border into Canada,” she said.
Ali’s next court date is March 27.
dean.pritchard@freepress.mb.ca
Dean Pritchard
Courts reporter
Dean Pritchard is courts reporter for the Free Press. He has covered the justice system since 1999, working for the Brandon Sun and Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in 2019. Read more about Dean.
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