Details about the ring were made public by the U.S. Attorney's Office in Vermont after it unsealed indictments concerning the Montreal-based ring and a similar group based in Toronto. Both are alleged to have used parts of the border in Quebec to sneak people into the U.S. through unmanned and wooded areas where the Canadian border meets Vermont and New York.

"They are the most highly organized groups we have seen. About 18 months ago we decided to stop nipping around the edges, catching people at the border and prosecuting them, refocused our energies and decided to target and investigate the organizations," said U.S. Attorney Thomas Anderson.

"They were equal opportunity smugglers. They didn't care what country the people were from," Anderson said adding people paid thousands to be snuck into the U.S.

"What we saw in the organization was the ability to have, either through reputation or whatever network they had (in Canada), aliens who would go to them to get smuggled into the U.S."

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security orchestrated the investigation and Anderson complimented the RCMP and the Canada Border Services Agency for their help.

Three members of the Montreal-based ring, what the U.S. Attorney's Office in Vermont has labelled the "Galdamez Organization," were arrested in Montreal in September.

All three, including the alleged ring leader, Jose Manuel Galdamez-Serrano, a native of El-Salvador, were recently granted bail at the Montreal courthouse. Lawyer Clemente Monterosso said they all intend to challenge the extradition request. A date for an extradition hearing is expected to be set on Dec. 20.

Galdamez's son Emmanuel recently turned himself in to the RCMP and is also facing possible extradition to the U.S.

Jatinder Singh, a woman who is allegedly tied to the organization, is believed to be in Canada and is currently being sought by the RCMP. She also faces criminal charges in Vermont.

Two Montreal-area residents, Marcos Gonzales, 41, and Patricia Sorgente, 27, face conspiracy charges in Sherbrooke, Que. and are alleged to be part of the Galdamez organization. Anderson declined to comment on why the pair were not included in the indictment unsealed in Vermont earlier this week.

According to the indictment, the Galdamez Organization offered smuggling services to other organized groups looking to get individuals into the U.S. illegally.

Members of the organization would sometimes house the illegal aliens at their residences until they were ready to sneak them across the border, usually through wooded areas in Vermont. Co-conspirators would wait on the American side of the border ready to transport the aliens to cities like New York and Boston.

The other group whose members face charges in Vermont was based in Toronto. Its members are alleged to have conspired to smuggle hundreds of undocumented workers from Korea into the U.S.

In that case Koreans willing to pay between $5,000 and $10,000 to sneak into the U.S. were greeted by members of the smuggling ring at Pearson International Airport and kept at safe houses until the smugglers were ready to guide them on foot across border points where Quebec joins both Vermont and New York.

pcherry@thegazette.canwest.com