Two held in smuggling attempt

By Jose Luis Jiménez, UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
Monday, April 19, 2010 at 5:41 p.m.

SAN DIEGO — Two men accused of smuggling 18 people into the U.S. from Mexico were in custody Monday, federal officials said.

Border Patrol agents spotted a panga about 2:15 a.m. Sunday as it approached the coastline of Ponto Beach in south Carlsbad. The agents were able to stop the 16 men and two women who got off the boat on the beach, but the captain of the vessel and another man returned to sea, officials said.

The agents alerted Customs and Border Protection agents and the U.S. Coast Guard, the latter of which spotted the boat heading back into Mexican waters from a helicopter.

A Coast Guard boat stopped the smuggling vessel about four miles north of the border and arrested two Mexicans they believe dropped the group of illegal immigrants off in Carlsbad, officials said.

A total of 20 people were arrested and taken to the Border Patrol Imperial Beach Station for questioning, and most of them are expected to be deported from the country, officials said.

The two men accused of smuggling the group into the U.S. may face criminal charges. The vessel was seized.

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