SAN DIEGO _ Border Patrol agents in San Diego arrested 39 people between Saturday and Monday as they worked with other federal agents to target smugglers using boats to transport people illegally into the country.
Officials said the arrests were made under a five-day effort dubbed Operation Shining Sea that included the Border Patrol, Coast Guard, Homeland Security Investigations and Customs and Border Protection.
The first arrests were made Saturday afternoon when agents and CBP officers were sent to investigate a suspicious vessel preparing to come ashore at Ski-Beach in Mission Bay. By time they arrived, the boat's operator was tying off at a dock. Seven people were found on the boat, all Mexican nationals who were in the U.S. without authorization. They were all arrested and processed by Border Patrol agents.
The second incident occurred Sunday morning when agents on personal water crafts spotted a suspicious pleasure craft entering Mission Bay. After the boat docked near the Quivira Basin, the group of nine headed toward a vehicle parked nearby. That's when agents moved in and made their arrests.
Seven men, one woman and one juvenile _ all Mexican nationals in the country without permission _ were arrested. The group was transported to a Border Patrol station for processing.
Shortly before midnight Monday, a third vessel was intercepted, this time after it was spotted by CBP "air assets" although the agency didn't specify if they were airplanes or helicopters. Marine interdiction teams intercepted the boat, a 25-foot panga, and all 20 Mexican nationals on board were arrested.
With assistance from the Coast Guard, the group was transported to Ballast Point and turned over to Border Patrol agents and then transported to a local station for processing. Two of the men onboard were determined to be boat captains and will face criminal prosecution, officials said.
The boat, which had eight 25-gallon fuel containers onboard, was seized.
"As a constant reminder to the public, if you see something out of the ordinary near the coast, don't hesitate to call authorities," San Diego sector Chief Border Patrol Agent Aaron Heitke said in a statement. "These vessels are dangerously overloaded and unsafe in the ever-changing ocean conditions. Smugglers exploit migrants and put lives in significant danger for their own profit."
Anyone who wants to report suspicious activity to the U.S. Border Patrol is asked to call the San Diego sector office at (619) 498-9900.
