MONTREAL, Canada (AFP) -- Canadian police announced Thursday the dismantling of a vast migrant smuggling network accused of sneaking hundreds of people from Canada into the United States (US).

Four people were arrested while arrest warrants were issued for four others at large, said the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), which collaborated with American authorities in the investigation.

The accused, aged 21 to 51, include two people from the indigenous border community of Akwesasne, where a family of four from Romania and a family of four from India died trying to cross the river in March 2023.

The group charged migrants who landed in Canada from other countries thousands of dollars to help them cross the St. Lawrence River by boat into the US from shores near Cornwall, Ontario, the RCMP said.

Hundreds of migrants are believed to have been smuggled into the US between July 2022 and June 2023. Some lost their lives in dangerous night-time crossings, the federal police force said.

“Many people from all over the world come to North America desperately seeking a better life,” Inspector Etienne Thauvette said in a statement.

“Transnational criminal networks are exploiting that desperation to profit from these men, women and families, with no concern for their welfare.”