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BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) — An Ecuadorian man is facing federal charges that he was transporting seven people who were in the United States illegally.
Documents filed in federal court in Burlington on Tuesday say that Andres Santiago Coronel-Barros was arrested Sunday on Interstate 91 in Sheffield shortly after he had picked up three Ecuadorians and four Romanians on a back road just south of the Canadian border in Newport.
Coronel-Barros told Border Patrol agents he knew his passengers had crossed from Canada, but he denied helping them cross. He told agents he was to be paid $500 for each person he transported.
He also said he had participated in other smuggling events recently and had picked up several people.
Coronel-Barros's lawyer says his client is next due in court Thursday, but wouldn't comment further.
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