A Turkish citizen flew from Paris to the islands of Saint-Pierre-Miquelon in hopes of hiding in Canada, but did not know how.
That is, until he met a Canadian sailboat owner at a bar, who offered to take him across the 25-kilometer sea that separates the French archipelago from the southern coast of Newfoundland.
As detailed in a Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) investigator's affidavit filed in provincial court last month, the drink-driven scheme didn't go smoothly for either man.
The Turkish man ended up in CBSA custody and two phones were confiscated. The Canadian made a mayday call to the Canadian Coast Guard a few days after the Turkish man arrived on Grand Banks, when his boat ran into distress.
Lived in an abandoned house
According to the seven-page affidavit, after traveling from St-Pierre to Grand Banks on southern Newfoundland's Burin Peninsula, Turki told the CBSA he stayed at an abandoned house before taking a taxi to Argentia Marine Atlantic Terminal with the Canadian on Sept. 11. .
After learning that the ferry to Nova Scotia was not running that day, they headed for St. John's, landing in the George Street bar district at 9 p.m.
At some point around September 12, the Turkish man claimed asylum at RNC headquarters, telling police that he had been “trafficked” to Grand Bank and that “he would do anything and pay to get from St-Pierre to Newfoundland. To do that.”
Despite this, he said money could not be exchanged and that he and the boat owner were friends.
The taxi company alarms
On Sept. 13, the CBSA spoke with a worker at a taxi company in Marystown, who called about a “fare of concern,” according to the affidavit.
The worker told the CBSA that the Turkish man, who had returned to Grand Bank the night before, was trying to get back to St. John's before taking a DRL bus to Port-aux-Basque that morning.
He was picked up by CBSA officers later that day.
The boat owner, meanwhile, who had not checked with border officials when re-entering Canadian waters, slipped away.
But two days later, on September 15, his boat was towed to Bourgeois by the Canadian Coast Guard after a distress call.
“Vessel has gone 'dark' due to Automatic Identification System (AIS) turned off; therefore current location cannot be confirmed,” CBSA is now trying to locate the boat's owner in Ontario. .
The Turkish man returned to France
It is not clear why the Turkish man wanted to come to Canada, but the CBSA affidavit says Canadian authorities had previously denied his request for a visa. According to other files in the provincial court, he has since returned to France.
An Ontario boat owner is under investigation for violating immigration laws by aiding or abetting someone to come to Canada in violation of the law.
As part of their investigation, the CBSA seized two cell phones from the Turkish man.
As no charges have been filed even after three months, according to the law the Border Service officers had to get permission from the judge to arrest them. Details of the case are outlined in documents filed last month to support the request.
CBSA spokesperson Guillaume Berube It is mentioned in the written statement that the investigation is ongoing.
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