Florida police intercepted a luxury yacht in the Keys that was used to smuggle around 30 Haitian migrants into the United States.
Officers intercepted the yacht, operated by two smugglers, in an area of Key Biscayne off the south coast of Miami on Friday, Inspector Argemis Colome told the Miami Herald.
In a photo posted on social media by Customs and Border Protection (CBP), migrants were seen cramped in a room below deck of the 60-foot pleasure boat.
According to the Miami Herald, one of the two smugglers was arrested and handed over to Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
In March, Border Patrol agents in Miami were warned of the possibility of Haitian migrants making the dangerous journey to the coast of Florida in response to the massive gang takeover of the Caribbean nation, according to a internal email previously obtained by the Post.
“A single landing will paralyze the station and our ability to respond to other traffic,” reads the email to agents.
Federal authorities are closely watching the situation, planning to prepare for possible waves of Haitian migrants fleeing violence and uncertainty in the politically unstable country.
source : New York Post
Florida cops bust luxury yacht full of Haitian migrants (newsbreak.com)
