SAN DIEGO: U.S. Border Patrol and Office of Air and Marine (OAM) agents, along with San Diego Lifeguards, collaborated in the arrest of a man and woman Tuesday afternoon at approximately 3:30 p.m. The two individuals were interdicted during a human smuggling attempt utilizing a rented jet boat.
San Diego Lifeguards informed Customs and Border Protection OAM of a suspicious 1998 Yamaha jet boat heading southbound with one person onboard. Later, OAM Air Interdiction Agents on patrol in a Multi-Role Enforcement Aircraft (MEA) spotted the jet boat headed northbound with two people on board.
The MEA crew guided an OAM vessel to intercept the jet boat driver for questioning. OAM Marine Interdiction Agents caught up with the jet boat and directed the driver to pull into Dana Landing near Ocean Beach.
Border Patrol agents arrived on scene and conducted an immigration inspection which revealed the 25-year-old Mexican national woman passenger, was illegally present in the U.S. The 51-year-old male driver of the jet boat is a U.S. citizen. Both were placed under arrest and transported to a local Border Patrol station for processing. It was later determined that the boat had been rented.
Director of Air Operations John Priddy stated, “Effective policing requires both the cooperation of interagency partners and a community that is willing to be involved and report suspicious activity.”
