Boule pleads guilty to helping people cross into Canada behind the Smuggler’s Inn

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Smuggler’s Inn owner Bob Boule will serve 30 months’ probation for helping people cross from his Blaine bed-and-breakfast into Canada. 

Boule, 72, was sentenced December 17 to a 30 days in jail, which the judge considered already served by his time spent in custody following his arrest, and 30 months of probation for aiding Afghan and Syrian nationals illegally crossing into the country, according to a Vancouver Sun article published December 17. 

In August, Boule pleaded guilty in B.C. Superior Court in Vancouver to one offense under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and one count of breaching bail under the Crown.

Between May 2018 and March 2019, Boule reportedly attempted to help 11 people illegally cross the border into Canada from Smuggler’s Inn while on probation for similar offenses. The people reportedly paid Boule anywhere from $200 to $700 to cross into Canada. He was arrested in April 2019.

“When I make a mistake, I try to take responsibility for it. In this case, I made a bad mistake,” Boule said in a statement to the court, reported by the Vancouver Sun. “That’s why I’m pleading guilty. I’m sorry to the court, the citizens and the government of Canada.”

Boule and his attorney did not immediately return a request for comment.

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