New arrest in human smuggling deaths on the St. Lawrence River

Jorge Barrera · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 16, 2025 3:59 PM EDT | Last Updated: 28 minutes ago

U.S. authorities connected Sunday arrested the member of the vessel aviator who drowned on with 8 members of 2 families during a March 2023 quality smuggling tally crossed the St. Lawrence River. 

Timothy Oakes, the member of Casey Oakes, is facing charges related to alien smuggling resulting successful decease and alien smuggling for fiscal gain, according to Michael Barnett, nationalist accusation serviceman for the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of New York. 

The indictment volition beryllium unsealed during his arraignment, said Barnett. 

Timothy — from Akwesasne, a Haudenosaunee territory that straddles the Canada-U.S. border, 120 kilometres westbound of Montreal — is scheduled to look Tuesday greeting earlier the U.S. Federal Court for the Northern District of New York. He was arrested by U.S. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents astatine the U.S. larboard of introduction successful Massena, N.Y., connected Sunday arsenic helium was crossing with household to be a Father's Day gathering. 

His brother's assemblage was recovered connected July 3, 2023, 3 months aft the vessel helium was piloting capsized successful stormy waters connected the evening of March 29, 2023. Four members of a Romanian household — with 2 Canadian-born toddlers — and 4 members of an Indian household besides drowned.

Both families wanted to beryllium smuggled into the U.S. and had paid a quality smuggling enactment allegedly led by a Sri Lankan-Canadian antheral surviving successful Montreal named Thesingarasan Rasiah. 

Rasiah is facing aggregate smuggling-related charges successful Canada. He has pleaded not guilty. 

It's unclear what grounds HSI has beyond what is publically disposable successful records filed with Quebec Superior Court arsenic portion of related extradition proceedings against 2 different radical from Akwesasne, including the alleged organizer, Stephanie Square.

A Quebec justice has already signed disconnected connected the extradition of Square and Rahsontanohstha Delormier to the U.S., wherever they person been indicted successful transportation with the deaths connected the St. Lawrence. The substance is presently earlier Justice Minister Sean Fraser.

Square allegedly pressured Timothy, done an intermediary, to get Casey to aviator the 2 families crossed the river, according to the extradition file. 

The Quebec filing alleges that the Romanian household — Florin Iordache, Christina Zenaida Iordache and their children Evelin and Elyen, aged 2 and 16 months, respectively — stayed astatine Timothy's residence connected Cornwall Island successful Akwesasne successful the hours earlier the fatal attempted crossing. 

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Timothy besides allegedly told Akwesasne Mohawk Police — which patrols the Canadian broadside of the territory — that helium towed the vessel utilized by Casey to a motorboat soon earlier his member formed disconnected with the 2 families, according to the Quebec filing. 

U.S. authorities person already obtained blameworthy pleas from 3 different Akwesasne residents successful narration to the quality smuggling deaths connected the St. Lawrence River.