WINDSOR -- A trucker testified he didn’t know 11 people were in the cab of his transport when he attempted to cross the Windsor-Detroit border at the Ambassador Bridge.
Paul Ngoue-Ngameleu took the stand Thursday in Windsor’s Superior Court, defending himself to three charges under the Immigration and Refugee Act.
CBSA officers allegedly found three women and nine children inside the cab of a transport truck at secondary inspection of the Ambassador Bridge border crossing in September 2017. The 11 people were "undeclared persons," according to border officials.
Ngoue-Ngameleu told the court they stopped in Dexter, Michigan for some food and a shower that day.
Ngoue-Ngameleu says he didn’t know the people were in the back of his cab, hidden by a curtain, separating the cabin from the front seats.
“It was only my colleague (co-accused Henadez Mbeh], he was the only person with me.” Ngoue-Ngameleu told prosecutor Ed Posliff.
Posliff asked Ngoue-Ngameleu: “You didn’t know they were three feet behind you?”
“I didn’t know, so I just handed over (to CBSA officer inside the booth at primary inspection) the documents of my co-driver,” Ngoue-Ngameleu testified.
Court also heard some conflicting evidence about whether Ngoue-Ngameleu, who was driving the transport, knew he was being pulled into secondary inspection.
He testified the CBSA officer mentioned going into secondary, but says when the officer gave him back his documents, he thought he was free to go until he saw another officer waving him down.
Video previously shown in court shows Ngoue-Ngameleu taking a “wide right turn” towards Huron Church after primary inspection.
“You decided you were going to run the port, right?” Posliff asked but Ngoue-Ngameleu.
The truck driver denied the prosecutor's claim.
“I wasn’t in a position to run the border,” Ngoue-Ngameleu said, admitting he headed for Huron Church because he "had my documents with me.”
Ngoue-Ngameleu is testifying with the assistance of a French interpreter. Both of the accused are from Quebec.
