10 smuggling suspects arrested off Key West coast

10 smuggling suspects arrested off Key West coast

Thu, May. 08, 2008

U.S. authorities detained 10 suspected alien smugglers piloting boats off the South Florida coast in a period of 24 hours, the Coast Guard announced Wednesday.

The Coast Guard and Customs and Border Protection air and marine crews intercepted the suspected smugglers between Miami and Key West, the Coast Guard said.

The smugglers were detected by routine patrols, said a Coast Guard spokeswoman, Petty Officer Jennifer Johnson.

Johnson was unable to provide any details, including the number or nationality of passengers or the number of boats involved.

The cases are under investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.

The arrests come amid a crackdown by federal authorities on migrants smugglers operating between Florida and the Caribbean, especially Cuba.

On Tuesday, U.S. prosecutors in Miami announced the indictment in Key West of 23 Florida men in 12 separate cases on charges of attempting to smuggle in more than 200 Cubans.