DATE: October 14, 2009 09:19:16 PST
DHS Maritime Task Force stops 14 suspected migrants
Coast Guard Public Affairs Detachment San Diego

News Release Date: Oct. 14, 2009 Contact: Petty Officer 3rd Class Henry Dunphy (619) 252-1304 henry.g.dunphy@uscg.mil

DHS Maritime Task Force stops 14 suspected migrants

SAN DIEGO — Fourteen suspected illegal migrants are in custody after the Department of Homeland Security's Maritime Task Force intercepted them in Mission Bay, Calif., around 11 Tuesday night.

U.S. Border Patrol alerted the Coast Guard to a suspected smuggling boat. An MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter and a 33-foot law enforcement boat launched from Coast Guard Sector San Diego to intercept the smuggling boat.

The Jayhawk crew spotted the smuggling boat in Mission Bay and directed the Coast Guard boat to their location. When the Coast Guard boat arrived on scene, one person jumped from the smuggling boat and swam for shore.

The Coast Guard took the 14 remaining people and the suspected smuggling boat to Ski Beach in Mission Bay, where they were transferred to Customs and Border Protection personnel.

CBP personnel are searching for the person who swam to shore.

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http://www.uscgsandiego.com/go/doc/830/354494/