Border Patrol intercepts smuggling boat, captures undocumented immigrants

Border Patrol agents took 10 people into custody Thursday morning after a suspected smuggling boat landed in Laguna Beach, California.

Nine of those being detained are believed to be immigrants smuggled into the country. The other person in custody is the suspected smuggler, said Ralph DeSio, a spokesman with U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

According to The Sand Diego Union-Tribune, Border Patrol agents and Laguna Beach police were alerted about the boat at around 7 a.m. Officials said they found two “takeaway” vehicles in the area. Three of the smuggled immigrants were Chinese nationals and six were Mexican.

Initially, officials believed two of the individuals in custody were smugglers who intended to transport the passengers in the vehicles, but DeSio later said only one of them, a U.S. citizen, was suspected of smuggling.

Video recorded by a nearby residence overlooking the beach showed 13 people in dark clothes running from the boat. Border Patrol Agents are still searching for additional passengers believed to have been on the boat, DeSio said.

The six suspected immigrants are being taken to a Border Patrol station for processing.