LEWISTON, N.Y. (WKBW) — The Lewiston Police Department announced five arrests were made on Wednesday night as it worked in coordination with U.S. Border Patrol.
According to police, around 10:30 p.m. on Wednesday, four individuals were attempting to cross the river from Canada into the U.S. in a raft near Youngstown.
Police said the information was put out on the radio and LPD officer Battista observed an out-of-state vehicle in the area and initiated a traffic stop. The officer identified a single occupant in the vehicle at the time of the traffic stop.
The four individuals from the raft were tracked and were allegedly observed loading into the vehicle the officer stopped earlier in the night.
Police said a second traffic stop was initiated and a total of five people were identified inside. All five were arrested by Border Patrol and the case is pending.
"Officer Battista was working a special detail in coordination with the US Border Patrol to address this very issue in our area," police said in a Facebook post.
Police asked residents to call 911 or U.S. Border Patrol at 1-800-331-0352 to report suspicious activity.
