Police in the Ontario town of LaSalle say they arrested a man from the U.S. trying to illegally enter Canada by kayak early Wednesday morning.
LaSalle Police Service said an officer encountered the man shortly before 1 a.m. while conducting commercial property checks near the Detroit River.
“While checking the rear of a business, (the officer) saw a man at the water’s edge of the Detroit River with two backpacks and a kayak,” a police statement said.
“The officer investigated and discovered the man was attempting to illegally enter Canada.”
Police said the 51-year-old man was detained and turned over to the RCMP for further investigation.
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Global News has asked the RCMP for more information about the case.
The man was already within Canada’s boundary when he was detained. The Detroit River serves as a marine border between Ontario and Michigan.
LaSalle lies just south of Windsor and is part of the city’s greater metropolitan area.
The Ambassador Bridge, which is nine km away from where the man was arrested, serves as an economic and tourist connector between Windsor and Detroit.
A new connector, the Georgie Howe International Bridge, is under construction just south of the Ambassador Bridge and is set to open this fall.
“This is an outstanding example demonstrating that proactive police work can yield unintended positive outcomes,” LaSalle Police Chief Michael Pearce said in a statement.
“While conducting a simple property check, I’m confident our officer did not expect to find someone trying to illegally enter Canada.”
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