IMPERIAL BEACH, Calif.—San Diego Sector Border Patrol agents arrested two Mexican nationals in the ocean near the Tijuana River late last night.
The incident began at approximately midnight, when a member of the San Diego Joint Harbor Operations Center (JHOC) observed swimmers making their way north in the Pacific Ocean near the international border. Border Patrol agents arrived on scene and observed two swimmers as they passed the Tijuana River outlet in Imperial Beach.
Agents requested assistance from the San Diego Office of Air and Marine (OAM) and a vessel launched to intercept the swimmers. The OAM boat crew retrieved two men from the ocean. The two Mexican nationals were wearing wetsuits and were transported to a nearby Border Patrol station for processing. Agents determined that one man had a prior criminal record.
The U.S. Border Patrol in collaboration with Federal, state, and local law-enforcement agencies coordinates operations through the Regional Coordinating Mechanism (ReCoM) to address transnational maritime threats along the Southern California coast. The ReCoM mission is to increase homeland security by eliminating transnational crime along the coast. The JHOC in San Diego is the tactical command center for ReCoM.
If you have information about maritime smuggling or suspicious activity along the coast of California, please contact JHOC at 1-800-854-9834.