By SDCN Staff
San Diego, CA–U.S. Coast Guard crews intercepted a suspicious panga-style vessel carrying 16 suspected migrants approximately 21 miles west of San Diego early Monday morning, authorities said.
The incident began at approximately 11:46 p.m. on Sunday, when a Coast Guard Air Station Barbers Point HC-130 Hercules aircrew spotted a vessel and notified watch standers at the Joint Harbor Operations Center.
Watch standers dispatched the Coast Guard Cutter Terrell Horne (WPC 1131) to intercept the vessel.
At approximately 2:50 a.m. on Monday, a boarding team from the Terrell Horne boarded the vessel and detained the passengers found aboard.
The individuals were transported to Ballast Point in San Diego and turned over to U.S. Border Patrol agents for further processing.
The Coast Guard regularly conducts maritime patrols and interdiction operations off the Southern California coast to detect and stop suspected illegal maritime crossings.
