CBP, Puerto Rico police interdict human smuggling event near Culebra
FAJARDO, Puerto Rico- U.S. Customs and Border Protection Marine Interdiction agents and the Puerto Rico Police Department interdicted a suspected human smuggling event Tuesday near the island of Culebra, Puerto Rico.
At approximately 6:30 a.m. on Sept. 15, an Air and Marine Operations asset notified the Fajardo Marine Unit of a vessel traveling from St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, toward Culebra.
Maritime interdiction agents from the Fajardo Marine Unit notified Puerto Rico Police Department officers in Culebra, who responded to the area where the vessel made landfall. Officers detained three individuals, identified as Indian nationals traveling as a family unit: one adult man, one adult woman and one juvenile.
The Fajardo Marine Unit deployed two vessels to support the search and successfully intercepted the transporting vessel, which had one occupant aboard.
Following interviews by Ramey Sector Border Patrol agents and agents from the Homeland Security Task Force Human Smuggling Unit, it was determined to charge the vessel operator, Kavon Wheatly, a British national from Tortola, British Virgin Islands, with a violation under 8 U.S.C. § 1324 for alien smuggling.
The family unit will be processed in accordance with applicable immigration law and placed into removal proceedings. All individuals were transported to the Ramey Border Patrol Station for further processing.
The vessel and 200-horsepower engine will be seized pursuant to 19 U.S.C. § 1595 and in accordance with agency regulations.
“Human smugglers routinely place lives at risk for profit, using dangerous maritime routes and unsafe conditions,” said Christpher Hunter, Director of the Caribbean Air and Marine Branch. “This interdiction demonstrates the importance of coordinated operations among Air and Marine Operations, the U.S. Border Patrol, Puerto Rico Police Department and our federal partners.”
Criminal charges are merely allegations. Defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law
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