Border Patrol agents apprehended nine migrants being smuggled into the United States aboard of 24-foot Bayliner that was approaching Point Loma.
Customs and Border Protection‘s aviation and marine division spotted the suspicious boat around 3:45 p.m. on Thursday. Agents took over the vessel and brought it to a dock at Ballast Point.
Border Patrol agents questioned the eight men and one woman aboard and determined they were Mexican nationals illegally present in the United States. The captain of the vessel faces alien smuggling charges.
The Border Patrol has reported in increase in maritime smuggling since the border wall system was upgraded in the San Diego area.
