Thread: Dozens of people seen leaving panga boat in human smuggling incident

Dozens of people seen leaving panga boat in possible human smuggling incident


(San Diego Union-Tribune)
Lyndsay Winkley Contact Reporter


Border Patrol agents are investigating after dozens of people were seen walking away from a panga-style fishing boat near Crystal Pier in Pacific Beach on Thursday morning, federal officials said.

The vessel was spotted on the beach about 25 yards south of the pier about 6:50 a.m., Border Patrol Supervisory Agent Michael Scappechio said.

“A local resident reported about 25 individuals getting off the vessel and walking toward the boardwalk with purpose,” Scappechio said. “Not running, but walking with purpose.”

The witness said the group then broke off into about four or five smaller groups, Scappechio said. At least two of the groups were seen getting into at least two vehicles that then drove off.

The vehicles were last seen heading south on Mission Boulevard.

Border Patrol agents are searching the area, but have not found anyone suspected of being on the boat, Scappechio said. A U.S. Customs and Border Protection division is working to remove the vessel from the beach.

Agents investigated two similar incidents last week.

On Aug. 27, federal authorities found 19 people on a panga boat about 15 miles off the coast of Point Loma.

Two of the boat’s occupants were suspected of being human smugglers, and the others were believed to be unauthorized immigrants.

A day later, Border Patrol agents were sent to investigate after a fishing boat washed ashore at Windansea Beach in La Jolla about 6:30 a.m. It’s unclear how many people, if any, were on the boat when it came to shore.

http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/...906-story.html

Get the marines on our beaches and boot them out!

The U.S. has 95,000 miles of shoreline.

"In total, U.S. borders span 5,500 miles of land to the north, 2,000 miles of land to the south, 95,000 miles of shoreline and over 300 ports of entry. "

2,000 mile southern border, what about the 95,000 miles of coastline