2 arrested for disruption at US-Canada border

HOULTON, Maine -- Two people are in custody after causing a disruption at the edge of Maine and Canada, halting traffic at a border crossing for hours, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said Friday.

The agency said it arrested two male Canadian citizens for the disruption Friday. The men stopped their vehicle between the ports of entry and refused to communicate with authorities from either country, the agency said.

The border crossing between Houlton, Maine, and Woodstock, New Brunswick, was completely shut down for more than six hours, and traffic remained halted at 7 p.m. U.S. customs said American and Canadian law enforcement are both investigating the incident, and criminal charges could result from both countries.

Houlton Port director Christopher M. Doughty said cooperation between authorities was "essential to resolving this incident safely and securely."

Neither U.S. customs nor the Royal Canadian Mounted Police released the names of the arrested men. RCMP said they were a 21-year-old man from Halifax and a 22-year-old man from Sackville, Nova Scotia.

For most of the day, traffic was being redirected away from the crossing into Houlton because of the vehicle, which RCMP described as "suspicious." The Canada Border Services Agency issued an alert saying the port of entry was experiencing a "service disruption."