Coast Guard ships thwarted two smuggling attempts earlier this week, and Border Patrol agents subsequently arrested 13 people, the Department of Homeland Security reported Wednesday.
The first incident occurred around 12:30 a.m. on Monday when a Coast Guard cutter encountered a 23-foot pleasure boat with four suspected aliens aboard some six nautical miles west of Mission Bay.
The second incident occurred two hours later when a Coast Guard fast-response boat encountered a panga-style fishing boat off the Imperial Beach pier with nine people on board. All were Mexican men, and one of them was charged with smuggling.
The two smuggling vessels were seized by authorities.