2 Stowaways Arrested on L.A. Container Ship

KTLA News

December 29, 2008

LOS ANGELES - Two suspected stowaways are under arrest after they were discovered aboard a Los Angeles-bound containership.

A joint federal team was called early Sunday to investigate a report of two stowaways on board a container ship en route to the Port of Los Angeles/Long Beach complex . The team was made up of members from the U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

Coast Guard Lt. Stephanie Young says the Coast Guard was notified that authorities on the ship, which sails under a Liberian flag, discovered the stowaways at an earlier port of call. The stowaways were reported to be Nigerian nationals.

The men, according to Young, had been hiding in the rudder compartment in the back of the ship. They were transported to a motor vessel, then onto a water taxi and were detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection for questioning, Young said. The ship had originally sailed from Denmark and stopped at Germany, Benin and Chile en route to the Port of Los Angeles, authorities said. Benin shares a border with Nigeria.
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