Group rescued after days adrift – smuggling attempt gone bad?
SAN DIEGO – A recent surge in human smuggling at sea apparently continued Wednesday when 15 people were found adrift in a vessel off the San Diego coast.
The group was spotted around 10:30 a.m. about 15 miles offshore and 20 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border, said a spokesman with Customs and Border Protection.
The group had been stranded for approximately three days during the apparent smuggling attempt. There were no reports of death or serious injuries, but some people were dehydrated and sunburned.
The group was taken to the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego, where customs has a dock, for further investigation, according to a base official.
Over the past eight months, there have been an estimated 20 attempts to bring illegal immigrants into the country by sea, said Lauren Mack, a spokeswoman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. In most cases, the boats have been found abandoned at a beach or in the water near the coast.
It is not unusual to use the sea for human smuggling, but it is traditionally done during the summer, when the water is warmer, Mack said.
“We are attempting to identify the organization behind the smuggling,” Mack said. “It's a very dangerous smuggling operation.”
Mack said ICE officials are now working to identify the individuals on the boat, verify their immigration status and determine how they got on the vessel.
Jose Jimenez: (760) 737-7568; jose.jimenez@uniontrib.com
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