BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — The U.S. Attorney's Office announced that 27-year-old Andres Carrillo-Hernandez, a citizen of Mexico, was arrested and charged by criminal complaint with alien smuggling.
Carrillo-Hernandez is accused of transporting a man, woman and child on a raft from the Canadian shoreline at Boyers Creek to near a residence on West River Road on Grand Island on March 15.
The U.S. Attorney's Office said Carillo-Hernandez admitted to being paid $2,000 to help the family cross the Niagara River into the U.S.
According to the criminal complaint, the family was from the UK and Ireland. They were also arrested for illegal entry into the U.S.
Carillo-Hernandez was charged with alien smuggling, which carries a mandatory minimum penalty of three years in prison and a max of 10. He made an initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeremiah J. McCarthy and was held pending a detention hearing on March 24.
According to an additional criminal complaint obtained by 7 News, the other man was identified as Brian Ward, a native of the United Kingdom and a citizen of Ireland.
The complaint states that in September 2022, Ward was admitted to the U.S. under the Visa Waiver Program with authorization to remain in the U.S. until December 2022. In October 2023, Ward was arrested in Illinois for assault and resisting a peace officer, and in March 2024, he was convicted of disorderly conduct and sentenced to one year of supervision and 7 days of special probation. A year later, in March 2025, Ward was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Rhode Island and then issued a Final Order of Removal. He was removed from the U.S. in June 2025.
