A Michigan man has been charged with helping people smuggle people illegally from Canada into the United States through a home in Algonac.
According to a criminal complaint filed in federal court this month, Darnell Gordon was arrested on Jan. 10 after federal agents found him with a Brazilian man who allegedly immigrated from Canada.
Following an investigation, the feds say Gordon helped smuggle people illegally from Canada to the United States and from the United States to Canada through a home located along the St. Clair River in Algonac.
Gordon was questioned and admitted that he knew the man had entered the US illegally. He allegedly told agents that he picked up other illegal immigrants on five separate occasions since January 2022 and dropped them off to smuggle people into Canada.
Agents say Gordon told them he received a payment of between $50 and $400, and it varies each time.
The house, located at 1516 St. Clair River Dr., is directly on Walpole Island, Canada and is on the St. Clair River.
According to the associations, they saw Gordon driving his car on January 9 and agents knew he had previously been involved in helping smuggle illegal immigrants.
In that instance from June 2022, the feds say Gordon was confronted by a Peruvian national who admitted to trying to immigrate illegally to Canada to be with his family.
On January 9, the players say they saw Gordon with a woman in the passenger seat, and then he parked the car at the house.
Then, at approximately 11:30 a.m. on January 9, they saw the driver, who they believed to be Gordon, exit the home with a passenger and enter the home.
Agents say that at approximately 6:20 a.m. on January 10, they observed a vessel with three people on board going north in the St. Clair River and crossing from Canadian waters into US waters and stopped right next to the house. Heading south towards the shoreline. Then, the boat left and the agent noticed movement in the house.
About an hour and a half later, the players say they saw a Kia sedan arrive at the house, the driver was later determined to be Gordon. About five minutes later, they saw Gordon and another man leave the house and get into a vehicle.
Agents pull them over shortly after, and Gordon tells them he is picking up a friend.
On January 9, Gordon said he released a man, and that the man and woman were smuggled into Canada on the same boat that brought the Brazilian man to the US.
The Brazilian man told agents he was trying to be with his wife and daughter in Massachusetts.
Gordon is charged with two counts – one count of transporting illegal aliens and one count of harboring illegal aliens.
