The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation says that three Guyanese convicted of conspiracy to smuggle people into the United States have been sentenced in New Brunswick (NB), Canada to time behind bars.
Savita Singh-Murray, of the St Stephen, NB, area, and her brother-in-law Mohamed Yusuf, a Toronto resident, were both sentenced yesterday at St Stephen provincial court to two years in prison, CBC said.
Ravindra Hariprasad, also of Toronto, was given a one-year sentence in provincial jail.
CBC said that all three were found guilty last September of inducing or encouraging people to enter the United States illegally between May 5, 2007 and May 11, 2009.
They were conspiring to set up two smuggling jobs, involving a Guyanese woman and a married couple from Guyana at the Maine-New Brunswick border near St Stephen, the court heard.
The RCMP arrested Singh-Murray, then 43, Yusuf, then 53 and Hariprasad, then 36, in May 2009.
They have been under house arrest since then.
The Crown had recommended sentences of three to four years. Despite the lighter sentences, prosecutors said they aren’t considering an appeal, CBC said.
The defence for Singh-Murray and Yusuf declined comment. They have 30 days to file an appeal.
Hariprasad’s defence lawyer, John King, said he’s not considering an appeal “at this stage”.
