22 illegal immigrants found on boat off coast

By Karen Kucher, UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
Thursday, December 3, 2009 at 11:03 a.m.

Twenty-two illegal immigrants were found aboard a smuggling boat about 16 miles off the coast of La Jolla early Thursday, authorities said.

The 25-foot panga initially was spotted by a Coast Guard cutter around 2:30 a.m. about eight miles west of Leucadia. When the boat began fleeing south, the Coast Guard alerted Customs and Border Protection officials.

A Black Hawk helicopter and an interceptor boat were dispatched to the panga’s location. The boat approached with its lights and sirens on, but the panga didn’t respond or slow down. After a short chase, the vessel was stopped, said Customs and Border Protection spokeswoman Jacqueline Dizdul.

Onboard, investigators found 21 men and one woman, all of whom were wearing personal flotation devices. The boat was taken to Shelter Island, where the driver was turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and the other 21 were turned over to U.S. Border Patrol agents for processing.

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