http://www.theledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/ ... 30369/1004

Published Monday, May 23, 2005
FORT LAUDERDALE

5 Stowaways Found On Cargo Ship

Four men and a 17-year-old boy from Colombia were found Saturday after stowing away on a cargo ship and jumping into the waters off Port Everglades, a federal official said.

The five had apparently hidden in the cargo hold of the Tradepoort and were discovered during a search of containers on the 150-foot ship at the busy Broward County port, said Zachary Mann, spokesman for U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

Agents on the ship were alerted to the five stowaways after they ran out of the cargo hold and jumped 15 feet into the water below, Mann said.

The five were quickly recovered, and they were being turned over to a ship's representative for their transport back to Colombia, Mann said.

The ship came to the United States from Cartagena, Colombia, Mann said. The men and teen were not immediately identified.

"They appear just to be stowaways for economic reasons, which is the most common reason," Mann said.