Border agents detain 25 people on boat from Mexico preparing to dock in Point Loma

After following it for nearly seven hours, U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents stopped a 32-foot boat they suspected was being used to try to smuggle people into San Diego early June 11.

Agents saw the boat at around 8 p.m. June 10 as it left northern Mexican waters and followed it until it was preparing to dock in Point Loma around 2:30 the next morning, CPB said.

“These kinds of lengthy pursuits are very taxing but not unusual for our air and marine agents as smugglers try to use the vastness of the ocean to cover their tracks,” said Christopher Hunter, deputy director of marine operations for CBP in San Diego.

At the dock, Border Patrol agents took custody of 25 Mexican citizens, including 18 men, six women and a 15-year-old boy, who did not have legal permission to enter the country, authorities said. The boy was not accompanied by his parents or other relatives, authorities said.

A CBP representative said the captain of the boat would face federal charges and the passengers would be returned to Mexico.

Human and drug smugglers are increasingly turning to the Pacific Ocean to get into the United States after the Trump administration has tightened border infrastructure on land, according to border authorities.