Four ‘British hikers’ were arrested in April for allegedly illegally entering the United States at a location not designated as a lawful port of entry.
The individuals were reportedly discovered walking along an unpaved logging path towards the United States by two maple sugar workers.
All four defendants, Ali Mohammed Ali Abdullah, 18, Hameed Mohammed Nagi, 21, Ibrahim Ayyub Khan, 27, and Mohammed Sultan Saleh, 22, pleaded not guilty and are being held without bail pending trial.
NEW: Border Patrol caught & arrested four British nationals entering the US illegally in a remote part of Maine after crossing from Canada.
Their names:
Ali Mohammed Ali Abdullah, Hameed Mohammed Nagi, Ibrahim Ayyub Khan, and Mohammed Sultan Saleh.https://t.co/asFHNymegA
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) April 9, 2026
Newsweek has more:
An affidavit submitted by Border Patrol Agent Scott Hanton says the incident came to the attention of CBP after two maple sugar workers reported seeing four men walking south along the Golden Road, an unpaved logging road, toward the U.S. border near the St. Zacharie Port of Entry.
The workers later relayed additional information suggesting a vehicle was waiting to pick the men up after the crossing, according to the affidavit.
Border Patrol agents reported observing “fresh footprints on the soft dirt of the road” and later found four individuals attempting to conceal themselves behind roadside vegetation, the court documents read.
The men were taken into custody without incident and transported to the Jackman Border Patrol Station, per the affidavit.
When questioned, the four men said they were citizens of the United Kingdom. Agents wrote that the men claimed they were unaware they had entered the United States and that some of them said they were on a hike. One defendant, Abdullah, declined to answer questions, while Nagi and Saleh denied intentionally entering the U.S., according to the affidavit.
Investigators said physical evidence contradicted those claims.
According to Daily Mail, the affidavit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maine, claimed GoPro footage captured the individuals celebrating the moment they crossed into the United States.
British ‘hikers’ tried to enter US through remote Maine woods… until cops found damning GoPro footage https://t.co/agJIAmmtS6
— Daily Mail (@DailyMail) April 10, 2026
Daily Mail explained further:
‘I can confirm you are now on US soil,’ Saleh could be heard saying in the footage, according to the affidavit obtained by the Daily Mail.
Abdullah could then be heard asking, ‘I’m on US soil?’ to which Saleh replied by showing his phone screen with GPS coordinates displayed.
‘Now we are in the US,’ Saleh allegedly confirmed. ‘We just made it baby.’
The four men are now charged with one count each of Entry Without Inspection, a misdemeanor offense that carries a maximum sentence of six months in federal prison and a $5,000 fine.