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A homemade boat containing 15 Cuban migrants landed on an island in the Florida Keys on Saturday, border officials said.
Adam Hoffner, division chief of U.S. Customs and Border Protection in Miami, said the boat, which had 12 men and three women on board, landed on an island near Key West, the Miami Herald reported.
Hoffner said border patrol agents and law enforcement officers originally received a tip about a “maritime smuggling event” in Key West, according to the newspaper.
#𝐒𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠: 15 migrants from #Cuba were taken into #BorderPatrol custody after making landfall on a homemade vessel in Key West. During this fiscal year, agents have responded to 78 maritime smuggling events that have made landfall in #Florida. pic.twitter.com/3YNOCvsgGC
— Chief Patrol Agent Walter N. Slosar (@USBPChiefMIP) April 2, 2022
Officials learned the passengers on the 15-foot vessel had come to the Keys from Havana, the Herald reported.
They were found on land on an uninhabited island east of Key West, WSVN-TV reported.
The vessel was equipped with 55-gallon drums for flotation and had a diesel inboard engine, Hoffner told the Herald.
No injuries were reported, officials said.
During the current fiscal year that ends on Sept. 30, agents have responded to 78 “maritime smuggling events” that have made landfall in Florida, the Herald reported, citing the U.S. Border Patrol’s Miami Division.
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