United States Coast Guard crews detained 16 undocumented migrants early Monday morning approximately 21 miles west of the San Diego coastline.
The operation began at 11:46 p.m. Sunday, when the aircrew of a Coast Guard Hercules aircraft operating out of Barbers Point spotted the suspicious panga vessel navigating offshore.
The crew alerted operators at the Joint Harbor Operations Center (JHOC) in San Diego, who dispatched the Coast Guard Cutter Terrell Horne to locate and assess the situation.
At approximately 2:50 a.m. Monday, a boarding team from the Terrell Horne successfully intercepted the craft. Upon boarding, officials discovered 16 undocumented migrants.
All 16 individuals were taken into custody and safely transported ashore to the Coast Guard sector base at Ballast Point, where they were transferred to U.S. Border Patrol agents for processing.
