ALBANY, N.Y. — American authorities say a 70-year-old Russian man who's skilled at finding his way through the woods is going to prisonfor smuggling people across the Canada-U.S. border in northern New York.
The U.S. Attorney's Office in Albany says Nikolay Souslov was sentenced Thursday to three years in prison for his conviction in May on alien smuggling charges.
Prosecutors say Souslov is a Russian citizen who's experienced in orienteering, a competitive sport that involves using a map and compass to navigate through unfamiliar terrain.
Authorities say Souslov used those skills between 2013 and last fall to guide people through the woods along the Canadian border to a pickup spot in Champlain, N.Y. They were then taken to New Jersey.
He was caught in Champlain by the U.S. Border Patrol on Oct. 19 while leading someone into the U.S.
