Suspected Illegal Immigrants Land on Beaches in Two Boats
February 13, 2012
Byline: Associated Press
HUNTINGTON BEACH (AP) — The Border Patrol reported Feb. 2 that 14 suspected illegal immigrants were taken into custody after a suspected smuggling boat was found on the sand at Huntington Beach.
Border Patrol spokesman Steven Pitts told the Orange County Register that the group aboard the 24-foot panga was taken to a border station.
In another incident, on Feb. 1, an abandoned 30-foot panga was found 200 yards off Fernald Point in Santa Barbara County’s Montecito area. Sheriff’s spokesman Drew Sugars told the Santa Barbara News-Press that life jackets found on the beach suggest that up to 20 people may have been aboard.
