CBP and Coast Guard Team Up to Interdict 5 Migrants

Five Mexican migrants were apprehended this afternoon by Coast Guard officers and Customs and Border Protection marine interdiction agents as they tried to illegally enter the U.S. by boat.

At 9:26 a.m., the Coast Guard received a report from CBP officials of suspicious activity aboard a red speedboat headed northbound into U.S. waters, about a quarter-mile off shore.

As CBP tracked the migrants, Coast Guard Station San Diego responded with two 33-foot law enforcement vessel crews, which caught up with and stopped the 20-foot runabout. A 39-foot CBP vessel crew responded as well. During their boarding, the crews found the five suspected migrants in addition to the vessel’s operator.

The migrants and the driver were embarked by the Coast Guard, and their speedboat was towed back to Sector San Diego. There, they were turned over to officers from the Maritime Task Force for further processing.

“Migrant smuggling on the high seas is illegal and often dangerous to the perpetrators, their passengers and the law enforcement personnel sent to stop the activity,” said Capt Tom Farris, Commander of Coast Guard Sector San Diego. “The Coast Guard, CBP, and our DHS and Harbor Police partners will continue to attempt to secure our borders from illegal smuggling while working hard to insure safety of life at sea.”

Source DHS