Fifteen people were arrested over the weekend in a maritime human smuggling attempt in Mission Bay, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
At about 2 p.m. Sunday, Border Patrol agents witnessed a human smuggling attempt on a fishing boat at Ski Beach in Mission Bay, the agency said. Upon approaching the boat, a “large” group of individuals fled the vessel and attempted to get onto three separate get-away vehicles to evade agents.
After capturing and questioning 15 people involved in the attempt, agents arrested the group and determined six people were suspected human smugglers. The other nine people in the group were Mexican nationals whose age ranged from 27 to 41 years old. The boat’s captain was only identified as a 46-year-old Mexican national, according to CBP.
In addition to the group, Border Patrol identified five other human traffickers, all U.S. citizens whose age ranged from 20 to 30 years old.
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The six human smugglers who were arrested in the attempt will face federal charges. The boat and three vehicles used in the incident were seized by Border Patrol.
