SAN DIEGO - In the early morning hours of Aug. 24, Border Patrol agents intercepted two panga-style boats along the coast of San Diego County loaded with more than a dozen people making an illegal entry into the country.
At approximately 2:20 a.m., the Joint Harbor Operations Center (JHOC) camera operator notified Border Patrol Dispatch about a boat that was spotted just west of Belmont Park in Mission Beach. The boat landed on the beach near Ostend Ct. and 10 people ran ashore; the boat headed back south. Border Patrol agents responded and apprehended all 10 persons.
after they came ashore on a panga boat.
Minutes later, JHOC spotted a second boat just west of Sunset Cliffs. A Coast Guard Sector San Diego MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew monitored both vessels and vectored in Border Patrol agents once the vessels made landfall. At around 2:40 a.m. the boat beached near Adair St. Two people were apprehended. The boat was seized by CBP Air and Marine Operations (AMO).
Of those apprehended, 11 were Mexican nationals and one was a Guatemalan national. A total of seven males and five females were apprehended, ranging in age from 19 to 43. All were determined to be in the country illegally.
Please also see this video link provided by the U.S. Coast Guard Sector San Diego.
The U.S. Border Patrol and AMO are member agencies of the Regional Coordinating Mechanism (ReCoM). The ReCoM is comprised of the U.S. Coast Guard, CBP's Air and Marine Operations, U.S. Border Patrol, Office of Field Operations, Immigration and Customs Enforcement-Homeland Security Investigations, and state and local law enforcement partners operating in Southern California. The ReCoM coordinates planning and operations to target the threat of transnational crime along the coastal border.
If you have information about maritime smuggling or suspicious activity along the coast of California, please contact the Joint Harbor Operations Center at 1-800-854-9834.