MASSENA, New York (WWNY) – A woman was charged with attempted transportation of aliens after customs officers at the Massena-Cornwall International Bridge found a female and three males under a blanket in the trunk of the car she was driving.
Cynthia Thomas was charged Friday. The documents with details of her arrest do not list her age or where she is from.
According to court documents, “Thomas appeared to be nervous because her hands were shaking and she failed to maintain eye contact when asked basic primary questions.”
When officers opened the trunk of her car, they saw a blanket spread across the trunk “with several bulges throughout.”
“When the officer touched the blanket, it began to move,” according to court documents. And underneath – a female and three males.
Thomas told officers she picked up the four in a parking lot in Cornwall, and was supposed to “drive the individuals to another location” once they were in the U.S.
She told officers she knew they were “illegal aliens” because “they did not speak English and had to cross the border illegally.”
Her motive? According to the court documents, she was to drive back to Cornwall after dropping off her four passengers, and be paid between $700 and $1,000 for each individual.
Thomas is due back in court next week. It’s not clear what the status is of the four, who were all from Columbia. According to court documents, two of the four – both adult men – have no valid immigration status in the U.S. The names of the adult female and an under-age male are not given, and there is no information on their immigration status.
