Lawmen: Illegal aliens arrested working for BP contractor
Comments 5
May 19, 2010 9:59 PM
Andrew Gant
Florida Freedom Newspapers

PANAMA CITY — Bay County sheriff's deputies arrested as many as 11 people Wednesday — all but one of them thought to be illegal aliens — in a sweep at Panama City Marina, a staging area for contracted workers loading oil boom on boats.

The agency plans to release the names of the suspects Thursday, sheriff’s spokeswoman Ruth Corley said. There were 10 people charged with criminal use of personal identification and one man arrested on a local warrant for battery.

Sheriff Frank McKeithen said the arrests came after he received several phone calls reporting illegal aliens at work. Investigators spent the afternoon at the marina, questioning people and loading some into patrol cars.

“I would hope there’d be enough people locally to work and do the same thing people from out of state are doing,â€