17 detained near Palos Verdes Estates in possible panga-boat human smuggling operation
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By Beatriz Valenzuela, Press-Telegram
POSTED: 04/04/14, 12:00 PM PDT | UPDATED: 5 MINS AGO


U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said 15 men and two women were detained at Lunada Bay in Palos Verdes Estates around 8 a.m. Friday, April 4, 2014, after authorities were alerted to a group of people in a boat near Rocky Point Road. The panga-boat passengers were suspected as part of a human-smuggling operation. (Photos by Chuck Bennett/Torrance Daily Breeze)

PALOS VERDES ESTATES >> Authorities said 17 people were detained near Palos Verdes Estates after a panga boat was spotted off the coast Friday morning.

Around 8 a.m., authorities were alerted to a group of people in a boat near Rocky Point Road, according to reports. A spokeswoman from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said 15 men and two women were detained at Lunada Bay.

No drugs were found on the boat, leading authorities to believe they were part of a human smuggling operation, said Virginia Kice, spokeswoman from ICE.

Four of those detained were hurt, but the injuries were not specified. They were taken to area hospitals for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries, Kice said.

The incident is still under investigation by the Palos Verdes Estates Police Department. Los Angeles Police Department’s Harbor Division assisted with the incident.

Last month, two people were detained after a panga boat washed ashore at Abalone Cove Shoreline Park.

The smaller boats have been used in the past for drug smuggling. Last year, two Mexican nationals were arrested after they were found with nearly 1 ton of marijuana in a panga boat in Manhattan Beach.

In December 2012, Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Terrell Horne, 34, of Redondo Beach was killed when men aboard a panga rammed his inflatable boat as he and other officers intercepted the vessel near the Channel Islands.

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