July 14, 2008
Smugglers caught off Imperial Bch
Border Patrol agents seized a 19-foot motor boat Monday morning that landed on Imperial Beach with nine illegal immigrants from Mexico, authorities announced.

Acting on a tip from the Coast Guard, an agent spotted the vessel on the sand at about 1 a.m. near Sea Coast Drive with nine people nearby, including two women.

When the agent ordered the group to stay near the boat, they scattered, but were later arrested by other Border Patrol agents in the area, authorities said. Two men tried to flee in the vessel, which had no markings showing where it was registered. They were stopped when a wave turned it on its side, authorities said.

Five men and two women are expected to be deported, while two men are facing human smuggling charges, authorities said.

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