The nine people detained trying to illegally cross from Canada into the U.S. earlier this week were part of a human smuggling operation, according to U.S. officials.
The group — all men, ranging in age from 19 to 46, according to officials — had attempted to enter the U.S. through a wooded area near Sprague, in southeastern Manitoba.
They were found in flooded bog west of Warroad, Minn. — about 25 kilometres southeast of Sprague — just before 5 a.m. on Tuesday, after RCMP received an emergency phone call from one of the members of the group and notified U.S. border patrol agents.
“They were told where they were dropped
