31 arrested in separate boat-smuggling attempts

By Susan Shroder
February 7, 2011 at 7:11 p.m.

Thirty-one illegal immigrants who were smuggled into the United States on boats were arrested early Monday, one group in the South Bay and another at Camp Pendleton, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials said.

Around midnight, U.S. Border Patrol agents working with CBP officers spotted a panga, a boat commonly used in Mexico for fishing, cross the international boundary and move north along the coastline. The boat came ashore near the mouth of the Tijuana River. Passengers were let off and the boat headed back into Mexican waters.

Eleven men and two women, all Mexican nationals, were arrested, along with a man who was a citizen of Honduras.

About 2:50 a.m., Border Patrol agents saw a panga boat approach the shore at Camp Pendleton’s Red Beach training area.

Passengers jumped out and headed toward nearby cliffs, while the boat headed south. Agents arrested 13 men and four women, all who said they were citizens of Mexico.

susan.shroder@uniontrib.com • (619) 293-1876

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