Four British nationals were stopped after crossing from Canada into Maine on April 3, recording their arrival on video; local workers alerted Border Patrol, an affidavit and reporting show, and the group now faces U.S. immigration enforcement actions.
Most conversation about illegal crossings focuses on the southern border, but the northern frontier has incidents too, and this case highlights that reality with a curious twist: four Britons walked into U.S. soil and filmed it. Their names are recorded in court documents, and the scene was close to an established port of entry in rural Somerset County.
The four individuals are identified as Ali Mohammed Ali Abdullah, Hameed Mohammed Nagi, Ibrahim Ayyub Khan, and Mohammed Sultan Saleh. . They were captured on camera proclaiming their position as they moved through thick forest toward American territory.
Four British nationals were apprehended by U.S. Border Patrol agents in a remote stretch of Somerset County woods after illegally crossing from Canada into the United States on April 3, federal court documents filed this week reveal.
One of them captured the whole thing on a GoPro camera, narrating a celebration as the group set foot on American soil.
“I can confirm you are now on US Soil,” Mohammed Sultan Saleh narrated on video as the group crossed through thick forest just a few hundred yards from the St. Zacharie Port of Entry in northwestern Somerset County, according to an affidavit sworn by U.S. Border Patrol Agent Scott Hanton and filed April 7 in U.S. District Court for the District of Maine.
Another man in the group — Ali Mohammed Ali Abdullah — can be heard on the recording asking, “I’m on US Soil?” Saleh replied by showing his phone screen with GPS coordinates displayed, and declared, “Now, we are in the US. We just made it, baby.”
The moment caught on a GoPro and the GPS confirmation add an almost surreal clarity to what otherwise might be a brief enforcement note. The crossing happened just a few hundred yards from the St. Zacharie Port of Entry, down an isolated logging corridor known locally as the Golden Road. That road stretches deep into Maine’s woods and has long stretches with no cell service.
The initial tip did not come from law enforcement but from two maple sugar workers who were traveling and noticed four men walking in the wrong direction for casual hikers. They reported their sighting to a Customs and Border Protection officer at the St. Zacharie Port of Entry at about 9:15 a.m., which prompted a Border Patrol response to that remote area.
The affidavit describes the Golden Road as a 96-mile private logging route running from Millinocket west to the Quebec border, with nothing but trees and no reliable communications for most of its length. That geography makes it a place where a small group can disappear quickly, and it’s precisely why an observant tip from local workers mattered so much that day.
What motivated these four to attempt an overland crossing from Canada into Maine remains in question. Some reporting took a lighter tone, imagining British tourists seeking ale and tea, but the legal reality is straightforward: they entered without authorization and were taken into custody. The incident underscores how crossings can happen anywhere along the border, not just in the well-known southern corridors.
In prior years, routine handling of similar cases often meant slow-moving notices and delayed court dates, which critics say amounted to ineffective deterrence. This case landed in federal court documentation quickly, and the four face the normal immigration enforcement procedures that follow an unlawful entry. Their future in the United States now depends on those proceedings.
The video evidence and the GPS screenshots mentioned in the affidavit provide prosecutors with strong documentary material, but it’s not yet confirmed publicly whether the posted footage circulating online shows these exact individuals. Investigators will sort that out as the case moves forward and as the government determines the proper charges and next steps.
The episode also highlights the role local residents and workers play in border security, especially in remote regions where federal agents cannot constantly patrol every mile of woods. The maple sugar workers who made that initial report essentially initiated the response that led Border Patrol to the group, showing how community vigilance can matter.
From a policy perspective, the incident is a reminder that borders are complex lines and that enforcement challenges appear in unexpected places. Remote crossings, GPS-verified entries, and social-media-ready footage create a new mix of evidence and public attention that agencies must handle carefully while upholding the law and public safety.
Editor’s Note: ICE and CBP continue to put themselves in harm’s way to protect America’s sovereignty and to keep our streets safe.
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