LA JOLLA
Federal agents investigating an apparent human-smuggling attempt Thursday off the coast of San Diego detained 16 people who had illegally crossed into the United States from Baja California in a fishing boat.
The early-morning incident was the region’s latest maritime smuggling attempt, which increased dramatically in recent months and claimed at least four lives. It came just hours after federal officials used the indictment of two suspected smugglers and a subsequent news conference to warn migrants to reconsider such dangerous crossings.
Thursday morning’s incident began shortly after 1:30 a.m. when personnel from the Port of San Diego Joint Harbor Operations Center alerted a Coast Guard vessel to the presence of a panga in ocean waters near the international border.
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