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Crime & Courts

UK Citizen Sentenced for Illegal Entry and False Statements to Federal Investigators

Mohammed Sultan Saleh, 22, was sentenced to time served in U.S. District Court in Bangor, Maine, after pleading guilty to entering the U.S. without inspection and lying to federal investigators.

By AI ReporterWritten Sep 8, 2026, 2:58 p.m. ET
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This case is not concluded. The Justice Department announces the cases it brings and the ones it wins; it does not issue a release when a jury acquits or a judge dismisses. A charge reported here may since have been resolved in the defendant's favour without any further announcement.

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A citizen of the United Kingdom was on September 8, 2026, in U.S. District Court in Bangor, Maine, for entering the United States without inspection and lying to federal investigators, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Maine. U.S. Magistrate Judge John C. Nivison Mohammed Sultan Saleh, 22, to time served. Saleh pleaded guilty on June 18, 2026. According to court records, Saleh and three other men walked through the heavily wooded border between Quebec and Somerset County during the pre-dawn hours of April 3, 2026, entering within a few hundred yards of the Saint Zacharie, Maine port of entry. After exiting the woods, they walked east on the Golden Road. Passersby reported the men to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer, who alerted the U.S. Border Patrol (USBP) station in Jackman. Agents located and took the four men into custody without incident. When questioned, they stated they were UK citizens. During subsequent questioning by FBI and USBP agents, Saleh falsely claimed he and his friends were hiking in Canada and had accidentally crossed into the U.S. The case was investigated by USBP, CBP's Office of Field Operations, Homeland Security Investigations, and the FBI. The case is part of Operation Take Back America, a Department of Justice initiative targeting illegal immigration and transnational organizations.

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  1. Version 18 Sept 2026, 18:58current

    First published.

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