FL. Boat lands near Juno Beach; 2 smugglers, 7 illegal aliens in custody

Posted: 4:29 p.m. Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Boat lands near Juno Beach; authorities say 2 smugglers, 7 illegal immigrants in custody

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By Sonja Isger
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Two men from the Bahamas are in custody, suspected of smuggling seven migrants into the country on a boat that dropped them off in Juno Beach on Saturday, U.S. Border Patrol officials announced Wednesday.

Authorities say the immigrants were brought over from the Bahamas on a 25-foot boat. The boat was equipped with external fuel drums that would have allowed the suspected smugglers to drop off the immigrants and return to the Bahamas without stopping to refuel, Border Patrol spokeswoman Elee Erice said.

But authorities found the boat on the beach about 6:30 p.m. and a subsequent search by Border Patrol agents as well as officers from the Juno Beach Police Department and the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office led to authorities taking the two suspected smugglers and their passengers into custody that evening. The immigrants included men from Colombia, and Brazil, a man and woman from Haiti and a couple from Ecuador who came with their daughter, Erice said.

An investigation into the event is ongoing.

The public can report any suspicious activity, including drug and alien smuggling, by calling the U.S. Border Patrol anonymously toll free at 1-877-872-7435.

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