21 People Apprehended Along San Diego Beaches & Coast After Two Boats Fail to Yield at Sea

SAN DIEGO – Two boats attempting to enter the U.S. illegally along the San Diego coast failed to yield to CBP Air and Marine Operations (AMO) and the U.S. Coast Guard, leading to CBP marine interdiction agents shooting out one engine at sea, and U.S. Border Patrol agents apprehending 14 others after their boat landed at Dog Beach early Friday morning.

“We had multiple agencies involved in bringing this dangerous smuggling attempt to a safe conclusion,” said Christopher Hunter, Director of Marine Operations for AMO in San Diego.  “Smugglers have no regard for the lives and safety of everyone on board when they make reckless maritime maneuvers.”

At about 1 a.m. on July 3, a CBP multi-role enforcement aircraft crew tracked two pangas as they crossed from Mexican territorial waters towards the U.S.  The aircraft directed an AMO coastal interceptor boat crew to the location of one panga, and a U.S. Coast Guard small boat to the other panga.

At about 3:30 a.m., the AMO CBP coastal interceptor boat crew reached the first panga with lights and sirens going, directing the panga to stop.  However, the panga failed to yield and instead fled from the AMO marine interdiction agents.  The marine interdiction agents fired two marine warning shots, and the panga still failed to yield.  Finally, the marine interdiction agents fired a disabling round into the panga’s engine, which stopped the boat about five miles from Point Loma.  On board, marine interdiction agents found seven people.

The USCG small boat reached the second panga, which also failed to yield.  The second panga was able to land on Ocean Beach in San Diego, near the area known as Dog Beach.  U.S. Border Patrol agents in place along the beach immediately apprehended four individuals on the beach who attempted to climb out of the boat and flee.  Agents apprehended nine others in a nearby park with assistance from the crew of the multi-role enforcement aircraft. 

One additional person fled by trying to swim away from agents on the beach.  Thanks to a citizen calling in with information, U.S. Border Patrol agents were able to apprehend him on the jetty at Dog Beach.

The marine interdiction agents brought the seven individuals from the first boat safely to the dock, and turned them over to U.S. Border Patrol agents for processing.  Border Patrol agents determined that all seven, six men, ages 19-50, and one woman, age 29, were Mexican nationals with no legal ability to enter the U.S.

U.S. Border Patrol agents also processed the 14 individuals they apprehended from the second boat.  The group included: three women, ages 27-40; ten men, ages 18-45, and one unaccompanied male teenager.  All were Mexican nationals with no legal ability to enter the U.S.

In both cases, AMO agents seized the panga boats.

If you have information about maritime smuggling or suspicious activity along the coast of California, please call the San Diego Joint Harbor Operations Center at 1-800-854-9834 extension 1, or notify local law enforcement by dialing 9-1-1.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is a member of the Regional Coordinating Mechanism (ReCoM).  The ReCoM is comprised of Department of Homeland Security agencies to include the U.S. Coast Guard, CBP’s Air and Marine Operations, Border Patrol, Office of Field Operations, Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations, and numerous state and local law-enforcement agencies.  The ReCoM utilizes intelligence, planning, and joint operations to combat the threat of transnational crime along the California coast.