Four Men Arrested by U.S. Border Patrol Found Guilty of Alien Smuggling

ALBANY, N.Y. – On January, 18, four citizens of Georgia were found guilty of the charge Conspiracy to Commit Alien Smuggling in the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York.

Olegi Charkoshvili, Zurab Gvarliani, Davit Shatirishvili and Daviti Sulakauri were found guilty of the charge Conspiracy to Commit Alien Smuggling, stemming from the failed attempt on August 21, 2016.  On that date, Border Patrol agents from the Champlain Station responded to the border area near the Perry Mills Road in Champlain, NY to investigate suspicious activity.  Agents encountered and stopped a tan Volkswagen Passat that was occupied by the defendants.  Also in the vehicle was a woman who is a citizen of Georgia who does not have documents that would allow her to enter or remain in the United States.  The four men were apprehended for suspicion of alien smuggling and the woman was apprehended for illegally entering the United States.

“I would like to thank the United States Attorney’s office for the Northern District of New York and the hard-working Border Patrol agents assigned to this case,” said Champlain Station Patrol Agent in Charge Norm Lague. “Their hard work from start to finish led to the guilty verdicts in this case.”

Three of the men have Lawful Permanent Resident status in the United States while the fourth, Shatirishvili has a pending Lawful Permanent Resident status.  All four men await sentencing and will be turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Office of Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) to pursue removal proceedings.

The Swanton Sector is responsible for securing the land border between ports of entry in Vermont, New Hampshire and northeastern New York. The coordination with assistance of citizens is invaluable to the Border Patrol’s border security mission and we welcome community members’ help to keep our nation’s borders safe. Please report suspicious activity at 1-800-689-3362.

For more on Customs and Border Protection’s mission at our nation’s ports of entry with CBP officers and along U.S. borders with Border Patrol agents, please visit the Border Security section of the CBP website.