Five individuals were charged on Tuesday for their involvement in an alleged human smuggling operation that resulted in a small boat capsizing off the San Diego coast on Monday morning, according to court documents filed that day.
The incident tragically left at least three people dead, four injured, and one person missing, the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California stated in a news release.
Initially, nine people were believed to be missing following the boat capsizing. However, during a subsequent immigration inspection in Chula Vista, California, on Monday night, authorities intercepted multiple vehicles suspected of being part of the alleged smuggling operation and apprehended all but one of the remaining missing individuals, the US Attorney’s office reported.
Prosecutors identified one of the three deceased as a 14-year-old boy and Indian citizen, while his 10-year-old sister remains the individual still missing. Their parents are among the four people who were hospitalized, they added. The other two fatalities were both Mexican citizens.
According to one complaint, two Mexican citizens were arrested at the beach where the boat overturned and have been charged with bringing in aliens resulting in death and bringing in aliens for financial gain.
A separate complaint states that three other individuals were charged with transportation of illegal aliens after their arrest on Monday night in Chula Vista.
It is currently unclear whether those charged have legal representation.
“Human smuggling, regardless of the route, is not only illegal but extremely dangerous. Smugglers often treat people as disposable commodities, leading to tragic and sometimes deadly consequences, as we saw in this case,” stated Shawn Gibson, Special Agent in Charge of HSI San Diego. “Yesterday’s heartbreaking events are a stark reminder of the urgent need to dismantle these criminal networks driven by greed.”
The US Coast Guard conducted an extensive search of the surrounding area by sea and air, utilizing a 45-foot-long rescue boat, a helicopter, and other vessels, before calling off the search “pending further developments,” the agency announced in a news release on Tuesday.
