SAN DIEGO — On September 26, 2014, Imperial Beach Border Patrol Agents and CBP Office of Air and Marine agents arrested 15 illegal aliens after their 35-foot panga boat came ashore in Mission Beach, Calif.
At approximately 3:45 a.m., Imperial Beach Station Border Patrol Agents, assigned to the Coastal Border Enforcement Team (CBET) spotted the panga on the ocean moving north, directly west of Belmont Park, located in Mission Beach.
The panga is a 35’ vessel with a single outboard engine - 15 people were apprehended.
Border Patrol agents and a Midnight Express Interceptor vessel and helicopter from CBP’s Office of Air and Marine responded to the location.
The panga made landfall one half mile north of Belmont Park at approximately 4:00 a.m. There, Border Patrol agents and Marine Interdiction Agents took 15 individuals in custody. There were 14 males and one female on board. All are Mexican nationals and their ages ranged from 12 to 47-years-old.
All individuals on board the panga were taken to a local Border Patrol station for processing. U.S. Border Patrol seized the vessel.
Customs and Border Protection is a member agency of the Regional Coordinating Mechanism (ReCoM). The ReCoM is comprised of the U.S. Coast Guard, CBP's Office of Air and Marine, Office of Field Operations, U.S. Border Patrol, 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.