U.S. Officials Detain 22 People off Crystal Cove in Immigration Case

posted: September 15th, 2010 14:08 pm

U.S. Border Patrol agents took 22 people into federal custody early Sept. 10 after they were spotted in an open Panga boat about three miles off the Crystal Cove shore, sources confirmed today.

U.S. Coast Guard officials first saw the boat and alerted Border Patrol and U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents, said Mark Endicott, a Border Patrol agent and spokesman.

At 3 a.m., agents stopped the boat and found 22 people aboard — all in the country illegally, he said. Some of the people were deported home to Mexico, he said, while others are being held as suspects and witnesses in a federal alien smuggling case, he said.

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