Quebec judge rules 2 should face U.S. extradition in human smuggling river deaths

Jorge Barrera · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 06, 2025 4:19 PM EST | Last Updated: 4 minutes ago

A Quebec Superior Court justice ruled 2 radical from Akwesasne should look extradition to the U.S., wherever they look charges related to a quality smuggling tally crossed the St. Lawrence River that ended successful the drowning deaths of 9 radical connected March 29, 2023.

Justice Gregory Moore said the national Crown presented capable grounds to conscionable the debased evidentiary modular for this signifier of the extradition process. 

"This is simply a precise constricted relation and intended lone to determine arsenic to whether determination is simply a prima facie case, whether a … transgression has been committed," said Moore. 

"The extradition justice did not perceive a trial, and the process earlier the justice is intended to beryllium expeditious, [deciding] lone whether a proceedings should beryllium held."

The national justness curate volition marque the last determination connected the extradition.

Stephanie Square and Rahsontanohstha Delormier are some wanted into the U.S. to look an indictment filed with the U.S. Federal Court for the Northern District of New York successful transportation with the drowning deaths of a household of 4 from India and a Romanian-Canadian household of 4 with 2 young children. 

While the alleged roles of Square and Delormier successful the calamity are precise different, their cases were heard unneurotic during this signifier of the extradition process. 

Romanian citizens Florian Iordache, Cristina Iordache and their 2 Canadian-born children, Evelin, 2, and Elyen, 16 months, drowned connected March 29, 2023, erstwhile the vessel they travelled successful capsized successful stormy upwind connected the St. Lawrence River. 

They shared the vessel with a household of 4 from India, begetter Pravindbhai Chaudhari, parent Dakshaben Chaudhari, and their 2 big children, lad Mitkumar and girl Vidhiben. The vessel launched from Cornwall Island headed for the confederate banks of the St. Lawrence, but ne'er made it.

The bodies of the 2 families were pulled from the stream betwixt March 30 and 31. 

The assemblage of Casey Oakes, the Akwesasne nonmigratory who was astatine the boat's tiller, was recovered successful July.

Akwesanse is simply a Haudenensaunee assemblage that is severed by the Canada-U.S. border. It sits astir 120 kilometres westbound of Montreal and its territory is divided betwixt Ontario, Quebec and New York State.

The Chaudhari family, successful Canada on visitors visas, paid $100,000, and the Iordaches, facing deportation, paid astir $15,000 to a quality smuggling web allegedly led by a Montreal antheral named Thesingarasan Rasiah. Both families wanted to participate the U.S. 

The RCMP charged Rasiah, who is successful custody, with galore quality smuggling related charges successful June 2024. 

Case goes to minister

This lawsuit present goes earlier the national justness curate to find whether they should beryllium surrendered to the U.S. Square and Delormier person 30 days to record for an interim release and an appeal. They tin besides marque submissions to the minister. 

The minister's extradition determination tin besides beryllium challenged astatine the entreaty tribunal and Supreme Court of Canada level.

Square's Montreal lawyer Joel Girard said they would beryllium appealing to the national justness minister directly, via a letter, that helium should cull the extradition request. Girard questions whether the U.S. has immoderate jurisdiction to prosecute transgression charges implicit the fatalities connected the stream due to the fact that they occurred wrong Canadian territory. 

"An alleged transgression committed successful Canada should be prosecuted successful Canada," said Girard.

Delormier's Montreal lawyer Antonio Cabral said helium planned to use for an interim merchandise for Delormier. Cabral said helium besides plans to entreaty Moore's determination and question a Gladue study for Delormier. Girard said helium would besides beryllium seeking to nonstop a Gladue study for Square to the minister.

Gladue reports are fundamentally similar pre-sentence reports that see the humanities interaction of dispossession and colonialism connected the beingness of Indigenous offenders. However, determination is lawsuit instrumentality connected the usage of Gladue reports successful the extradition process.

Cabral said helium planned to combat Delormier's extradition "with each of my powerfulness and energy."

Square faces 8 counts successful the indictment, including alien smuggling, conspiracy to perpetrate alien smuggling,alien smuggling for profit and 4 counts of alien smuggling causing decease for each of the Romanian-Canadian families who died.

Delormier faces 5 counts, including conspiracy to perpetrate alien smuggling, alien smuggling and alien smuggling for profit. 

Much of the U.S. lawsuit against Delormier and Square is based connected grounds gathered by Canadian authorities, according to the publically disposable record. Square was the alleged organizer of the tally who allegedly hired Casey Oakes to instrumentality the 2 families crossed the river. 

Delormier was recovered connected an land during the time of March 30 connected the verge of hypothermia. The extradition record alleges helium was piloting a vessel bought by Square that broke down connected the mode to Cornwall Island where the families waited to beryllium smuggled.