CA - Officials detain 6 in panga boat investigation near Mugu Rock

By Jennifer Letzer
Posted August 27, 2013 at 8:03 a.m., updated August 27, 2013 at 6:13 p.m.
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Law enforcement personnel investigate the beach just south of Mugu Rock on Pacific Coast Highway after a panga boat washed up early Tuesday. The suspects from the boat were detained by officers further south on the beach.

Six people were detained Tuesday after a panga boat washed ashore south of Mugu Rock, but authorities said they found no evidence of human or drug smuggling.

One of the men, however, was arrested by Ventura County sheriff’s deputies on suspicion of being under the influence of a controlled substance, a misdemeanor, officials said. Another, a 17-year-old, was arrested on suspicion of an outstanding warrant from San Diego County. A third will be deported to Mexico after officials discovered he was in the country illegally, said Virginia Kice, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman. The other three were released, according to Kice.

Except for the Mexican national, the men were believed to be American, said David Wales, assistant special agent in charge with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

The investigation began about 6:10 a.m. when the Coast Guard received a call from a motorist who spotted the abandoned, beached vessel. A short time later, California Highway Patrol officers found the six people walking together nearby. Joel Frazier, 41, of Oak View, said he was on his way to work with his brother, Jason, 42, when they spotted the boat. Joel said this is the fifth boat they’ve spotted in the past two years in the same area.

Frazier said they decided to pull over because they saw several gas canisters tipped over and pouring into the surf. They tied up the 35-foot boat, collected the gas canisters and waited for authorities to arrive.

Kice said it’s important for the public to remain vigilant and report anything suspicious.

From October 2012 to June, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has recorded four maritime smuggling incidents in Ventura County. Three involved drug smuggling and one included drugs and human smuggling, according to Kice. In Ventura County, seven smuggling incidents were reported in 2012, up from five a year earlier. The seven resulted in 38 arrests and nearly 9,500 pounds of marijuana seized, authorities said. Smugglers are pushing farther north as border security tightens, officials say.

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