Updated at 6:40 p.m. Sept. 18, 2017:
A federal agent who spotted a suspicious predawn boat landing Monday near Torrey Pines State Beach thwarted a smuggling run involving more than three-quarters of a ton of marijuana, authorities reported.
The Border Patrol officer was patrolling the ocean coastline in Del Mar about 2:30 a.m. when he saw four people debark from a beached skiff near the terminus of Fourth Street in Del Mar and begin unloading large packages, according to USBP public affairs.
With help from sheriff’s deputies and San Diego police, the Border Patrol took three of the suspects into custody. A fourth fled and was able to evade escape.
The detainees — a 43-year-old Mexican national, a 36-year-old Honduran and a 27-year-old U.S. citizen — were arrested on suspicion of drug smuggling.
Agents seized 63 bundles of cannabis weighing a combined 1,619 pounds and impounded the boat.
Such outboard-motor vessels, commonly known as pangas, are a favorite means of transport for smugglers.
Pangas have been used often in recent years by those trying to sneak drugs and people into the United Sates from Mexico in the San Diego area.
— City News Service
