Thread: Drug boat beached in Carlsbad, 3 arrested

Drug boat beached in Carlsbad, 3 arrested

Written by Debbi Baker
6:39 a.m., Nov. 15, 2011
Updated 8:43 a.m.

CARLSBAD — Three people were arrested and 19 bundles of marijuana were seized after a panga boat came ashore on Carlsbad State Beach early Tuesday.

Agents spotted the 28-foot boat about 1:30 a.m. and watched it come ashore between Tamarack Avenue and Canon Road, Border Patrol Agent Michael Jimenez said.

Two people onboard the boat and one person sitting in an awaiting vehicle were taken into custody, Jimenez said.

Agents are still investigating and have not said where the people were from.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2011 ... -carlsbad/

3 arrested, pot seized after boat washes ashore

Authorities say 19 bundles of marijuana worth nearly $730,000 were found on the open-hulled panga boat at San Diego County's Carlsbad State Beach.

By Tony Perry, Los Angeles Times

November 16, 2011
Reporting from Carlsbad, Calif.—

Three men were arrested Tuesday in what the U.S. Border Patrol said was an attempt to smuggle 1,460 pounds of marijuana worth $729,950 into the United States aboard a 25-foot, open-hulled panga boat.

Two of the suspects — a 31-year-old Mexican national and a 29-year-old U.S. citizen — were apprehended as they attempted to flee after the boat washed ashore about 1:30 a.m. at Carlsbad State Beach, officials said. Minutes later, Carlsbad police stopped a vehicle being driven by a 29-year-old Nicaraguan national who was in the United States legally. He was turned over to Border Patrol agents.

The boat had been detected by California Army National Guard troops working with the Border Patrol to spot smugglers heading north along the San Diego County coast. Helicopters, night-vision goggles and other high-tech gear are part of the arsenal employed in the hunt.

A search of the boat captured Tuesday revealed five fuel containers and 19 bundles of marijuana, officials said. The three men, the boat and the other vehicle were turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Panga boats are used by Mexican fishermen, as well as smugglers attempting to bring undocumented immigrants or drugs across the border. The Sinaloa drug cartel is suspected of involvement in such activity, officials said.

As enforcement has tightened along the border since 2007, smugglers have increasingly turned to the ocean as a route. Although most of the boats have come ashore in northern San Diego County, others have been found along the beaches of Orange and Los Angeles counties. Boats have come ashore near pricey homes in Del Mar, the nuclear power plant at San Onofre and the training beaches at Camp Pendleton.

Last year, nearly 900 illegal immigrants and smugglers were arrested at sea or along the California coast, double the number from the previous year.

Smugglers sometimes pack immigrants into boats that are not seaworthy. Often the undocumented immigrants pay up to $6,000 each for the chance to enter the United States, officials said. Last year, two undocumented immigrants drowned when their overloaded boat capsized off Torrey Pines State Beach.

www.latimes.com

C.B.P. News Release

U.S. Border Patrol Agents Thwart Maritime Drug Smuggling Attempt At Southern California State Beach

(Tuesday, November 15, 2011)

San Diego – U.S. Border Patrol agents detained three men early this morning for attempting to smuggle 1,460 pounds of marijuana into the United States aboard a 25-foot, open-hulled panga boat.

At approximately 1:20 a.m., a California National Guard Entry Identification Team assisting U.S. Border Patrol agents assigned to coastal enforcement duties, observed a suspicious boat traveling along the San Diego County coastline near Carlsbad State Beach. Border Patrol agents responded to the area and observed the boat had come ashore just north of the power plant. Agents conducted a search of the area and arrested a 31-year-old Mexican national and a 29-year-old United States citizen who had fled from the beached boat. A search of the panga revealed five fuel containers and 19 bundles of marijuana with a total weight of 1459.9 pounds and an estimated street value of $729,950.

At approximately 1:50 a.m., Carlsbad Police searched the area for any additional subjects and stopped a suspicious vehicle for further questioning. Border Patrol agents responded to the scene and took custody of a 29-year-old Nicaraguan national who was legally present in the U.S. The three men, drugs, vehicle, and boat were turned over to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations Marine Task Force for further investigation.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection maintains a strong enforcement posture along the coastal borders to detect and apprehend smugglers of humans, drugs and other contraband and is a member agency of the Maritime Unified Command The MUC is a Department of Homeland Security coordinated effort and is comprised of local, state and federal law enforcement partners operating in the San Diego and Orange County maritime domain. The MUC utilizes the fusion of intelligence, planning and operations to target the threat of transnational crime along the Southern California coastal border. To report suspicious maritime activity, call the Joint Harbor Operations Center at (1-800) 854-9834.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation's borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.

Contacts For This News Release
CBP Press Office
CBP Public Affairs
Phone: (202) 344-1780

CBP Headquarters
Office of Public Affairs
1300 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.
Room 3.4A
Washington, DC 20229 Phone: (202) 344-1780 or
(800) 826-1471
Fax: (202) 344-1393

http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/newsroom/new ... 2011_4.xml