Officers in Coral Gables, Florida, stopped two vans carrying over two dozen Chinese migrants Tuesday morning, sparking an investigation.
Just after 8 a.m., Coral Gables police said they got a report from a vigilant citizen who was concerned about migrants being transported in vans.
When officers arrived, they pulled over two vans: one at 11600 Old Cutler Road and the other around 88th Street and Old Cutler Road.
According to authorities, there were 26 Chinese migrants—17 men and 9 women—between the two vehicles who were being taken to an unidentified destination.
Police Chief Ed Hudak stated, “We think they arrived by boat and entered a remote area near the southern end of Coral Gables.”
Police arrested the two smugglers, a Puerto Rican and a Cuban, and found a gun, Hudak added.
Law officials at the incident was seen patting down multiple individuals and taking them to a city trolley in aerial footage captured by Chopper 6.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Customs and Border Patrol were among the several organizations who arrived on the site. According to authorities, the inquiry was being taken over by U.S. Homeland Security Investigations.
In the city of Coral Gables, let alone the state of Florida, there is no room for human smuggling. John Vecchio, FDLE Special Agent in Charge in Miami, stated that we must use our skilled state and local agencies to take on illegal immigration head-on.
The incident occurs only days after authorities in Coral Gables arrested over two dozen persons in what they described as a human smuggling operation.
The event on Tuesday is thought to have been another people smuggling operation, according to Hudak, who also stated it seems the smugglers are accessing a canal region that links to a private marina.
According to Hudak, the two vans traveled in two separate ways after coming ashore essentially in the same spot. This is one of those situations where it was remarkably similar to what we experienced two weeks earlier, however I can’t say with certainty that they are connected.