Men charged in connection with 44 migrants found in truck in Quebec to stay detained

Three men facing smuggling-related charges after 44 foreign nationals were found in a truck in southern Quebec on Sunday will remain detained until their next court hearing.

Ogulcan Mersin, Dogan Alakus and Firat Yuksek appeared in a Sherbrooke, Que. courtroom today following their arrest over the weekend.

Prosecutor Annabelle Racine objected to their release on several grounds, and the next date was set for Aug. 28.

The suspects were arrested Sunday after police intercepted a cube truck carrying the foreign nationals in southern Quebec near the U.S. border.

The men have been charged with inducing, aiding or abetting someone to commit an offence under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act as well as assisting people to enter Canada outside of a designated customs office.

One of the accused told the judge through a Turkish-language interpreter that they hadn't been able to speak with their families since their arrests.

"It's been very frustrating for us, since the moment we have been detained," Yuksek said through the interpreter. "We have not been in touch with our families, our families do not know where we are."

He explained that police had taken his cellphone and those of his co-accused, and they did not know the phone numbers of their families by heart.

The accused all confirmed that they wished to be represented by legal aid lawyers.

Racine objected to the accused's release on several grounds, including the risk that they will not appear for future dates and the need to protect public safety.

RCMP spokesperson Charles Poirier said earlier this week that police intercepted a cube van at around 2:20 a.m. on Sunday after receiving information about a group of migrants planning to cross the border from the United States.

He said the 44 migrants were mostly Haitian, and included a pregnant woman and children as young as four. They were dehydrated, "visibly distraught" and in cramped conditions when police found them, he added.

“Just horrific conditions, really, that they were basically left in," Poirier said after the arrest.

In court, the men were asked not to communicate with a certain person, and were warned that more charges could follow if they did. One of the accused said the person "was also in the vehicle," before being advised by his lawyer not to say more in open court.