Laval Immigration Surveillance Center | Criminal histories of two of three escapees revealed

Breaking and entering, theft of US$60,000, intent to steal a vehicle, attempt to enter Canada under a false identity: we know more about the criminal histories of two of the three Chilean nationals who escaped.

The Press was able to view transcripts from the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (IRB) regarding Diego Nicolas Flores Sepulveda and Daniel Eliseo Gonzalez Ihrig, two of three Chilean nationals who have been actively sought by authorities since their escape last Saturday from the Laval Immigration Surveillance Center.

Read the article “Escape from the Laval Immigration Surveillance Center”

Diego Nicolas Flores Sepulveda arrived in Canada on 1^is April 2023, in Toronto, where he first presented himself under a false identity, before applying for asylum under his real name. The latter request was initially granted.

A year later, he was convicted of two break-ins, for which he was sentenced to 78 days in prison, in addition to having his asylum application ruled inadmissible. Shortly after, he was found guilty of making a false declaration and using a false passport, for which he received an additional 8 months in prison. On November 12, 2024, when he was released by the courts, he was released from arrest by the Border Services Agency to be returned to his country of origin.

His file also reveals that he was convicted in Argentina of stealing US$60,000 and that Argentina requested his extradition from Chile.

Daniel Eliseo Gonzalez Ihrig, for his part, has already been convicted of breaking and entering, possessing a stolen vehicle and intending to steal a vehicle, offenses committed between 2013 and 2021. He tried to come to Canada in the past, but his application was refused.

On November 28, he presented himself at Montreal-Trudeau international airport with his brother’s passport, before applying for refugee status under his real identity, only to finally withdraw this application.

Both presenting a danger to public safety and a risk of flight, the IRB commissioner decided that the two Chilean nationals be kept in detention.

On November 21, during a hearing about Diego Nicolas Flores Sepulveda, the council of the Minister of Public Security and Civil Protection mentioned the possibility that he was part of a “group of South American thieves” . The person’s counsel responded that there was not enough evidence to reach this conclusion, nor enough evidence to “conclude that this group really exists”.

“For Bryan Ulises Moya Rojas, the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada does not have any public information to share on this subject,” the IRB media relations team said by email.