A 49-year-old man from Calgary is in custody after allegedly attempting to smuggle a van load of people into Canada. 

RCMP say on Jan. 27, at around 3:45 a.m., the Manitoba RCMP Integrated Border Enforcement Team received information from the United States Border Patrol about a group of unknown individuals walking towards the Canadian border near Emerson. Border patrols said the group of people would likely cross into Canada within the hour. 

Officers attended the area and pulled over a vehicle near Dominion City, which was registered to a rental company.

Inside the vehicle, officers found the driver and seven male occupants between the ages of 27 and 49, who were confirmed to be foreign nationals from the Republic of Chad.

The driver, 49-year-old Saleh Youssouf from Calgary was arrested for human smuggling under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA). He remains in custody. 

The other seven individuals were arrested under the Customs Act and turned over to Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) Immigration officers at the Emerson Port of Entry.

RCMP, along with the Canada Border Services Agency, continue to investigate.