Nine migrants detained, one dead after illegal crossings in Alberta

Mounties say they thwarted two illegal border crossings in Alberta this week, with nine people detained and another dead after fleeing from police.

Assistant Commissioner Lisa Moreland says it shows the RCMP, as well as the Canada Border Services Agency, are more than capable of tackling border issues.

Moreland says an American national tried to cross into Alberta earlier this week at the Coutts border crossing but fled after being asked to pull over to be searched.

She says the individual led police on a chase throughout southern Alberta before fleeing on foot near Milk River, where he eventually shot himself and died.

Moreland says nine people, including five children, of Columbian and Venezuelan descent were detained earlier this week after also trying to cross the border into Alberta near Coutts.

The cases come three weeks after six people were detained trying to illegally cross the border from the United States near Emerson, Man.