Thread: Ca - 23 illegal immigrants found on boat

February 02, 2009

Twenty-three illegal immigrants were found on a fishing boat intercepted by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents early today off the coast of Torrey Pines, officials said.

The marine agents spotted the panga about 4 miles off the coast around 4 a.m., said Lauren Mack, a spokeswoman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. No information about the gender, age or nationality of the immigrants was immediately released.

Investigators are still interviewing the detainees, Mack said.

"We are attempting to locate or identify a smuggler or smugglers. If we do identify one, we will make an arrest," Mack said.

Posted by Karen Kucher | 08:07 AM
http://weblog.signonsandiego.com/news/b ... nd_on.html

REGION: Two smuggling boats found at Torrey Pines beach
Authorities take 23 illegal immigrants into custody
By COLLEEN MENSCHING - Staff Writer | Tuesday, February 3, 2009 12:09 AM PST ∞

(21) Comments
SAN DIEGO ---- Authorities intercepted a fishing boat carrying 23 illegal Mexican immigrants off Torrey Pines State Beach early Monday morning, officials from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said.

They found another boat abandoned on the beach after 10 a.m. with 21 life vests nearby, said agency spokeswoman Lauren Mack.

Monday's discoveries bring to five the number of smuggling boats discovered along the San Diego County coast in the last week.

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"It's part of the overall increase of sea smuggling in this area for the last year and a half," Mack said.

She credited tighter controls at land crossings for the increased attempts to enter the country by boat.

Mack said 2008 saw a threefold increase in people smuggled by boat compared with 2007. The number of smuggling boats discovered was two times higher in 2008, she said.

She said the numbers also have risen sharply for drug smuggling by sea, with 10 times more marijuana seized from boats in 2008 compared with 2007.

Officials said Torrey Pines State Beach ---- where several of the boats have been found ---- is popular with smugglers who believe the area's cliffs will shield them from sight.

Those looking for a more direct route may land on the shores of Coronado, they said.

Coast Guard Petty Officer Jetta Disco called the sea crossings "very risky," even in good sailing conditions.

Disco said the skiff intercepted shortly before 4 a.m. was no more than 26 feet long. With 23 people on it, the boat was severely overloaded, she said.

"In a situation like that ... any sort of sudden scare, movement or shifting, or even waves can affect the stability of the boat, which could cause it to capsize," Disco said.

Whether those onboard survive capsizing depends on many factors, including whether they have life vests; how far they are from shore; whether they can swim; the water temperature and whether those aboard have medical conditions that make them more vulnerable, she said.

The people apprehended Monday did have life vests, which Mack said is an example of smugglers responding to the increased penalties they face if they're caught putting people lives at risk during smuggling.

Authorities said they don't believe any San Diego County boat crossings have resulted in injury or death, but that dire consequences aren't unheard of in other parts of the world.

A Customs and Border Protection boat was responsible for catching the boat overloaded with 19 men and four women, agency spokesman Vincent Bond said. The agency will seek criminal prosecutions in the case, he said.

The abandoned boat and accompanying life vests were located by the San Diego Marine Task Force ---- comprising representatives of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Coast Guard, Customs and Border Protection and three municipal police agencies.

Contact staff writer Colleen Mensching at (760) 739-6675 or cmensching@nctimes.com.

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