10 smugglers arrested off Key West coast
Posted on Thu, May. 08, 2008
U.S. authorities detained 10 suspected alien smugglers piloting boats
off the South Florida coast in a period of 24 hours, the Coast Guard
announced Wednesday.
The Coast Guard and Customs and Border Protection air and marine crews
intercepted the suspected smugglers between Miami and Key West, the
Coast Guard said.
The smugglers were detected by routine patrols, said a Coast Guard
spokeswoman, Petty Officer Jennifer Johnson.
Johnson was unable to provide any details, including the number or
nationality of passengers or the number of boats involved.
The cases are under investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement agents.
The arrests come amid a crackdown by federal authorities on migrants
smugglers operating between Florida and the Caribbean, especially Cuba.
On Tuesday, U.S. prosecutors in Miami announced the indictment in Key
West of 23 Florida men in 12 separate cases on charges of attempting to
smuggle in more than 200 Cubans.
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/miami_dade/story/525370.html
|
