LEWISTON, N.Y. — A Lewiston police officer working with the U.S. Border Patrol and Protection to address trafficking into the United States helped arrest five people for trying to get into the United States illegally.
Lewiston Police say a raft with four people on it was spotted around 10:30pm Wednesday trying to cross the Niagara River near Youngstown from Canada.
Information about the individuals was put out to local law enforcement. Shortly after, Lewiston Police Officer Battista noticed a vehicle with out of state plates in that area and pulled the vehicle over. There was one person in the vehicle at the time.
After officials tracked the four people on the raft, they discovered them getting into the same vehicle that Officer Battista previously stopped.
Another traffic stop was initiated and five people were identified in the vehicle. All five people were arrested by US Border Patrol and taken into custody.
Lewiston Police say Officer Battista has been working on a special detail with the US Border Patrol to combat this issue in their area.