A beached panga boat with more than 570 pounds of marijuana was seized by Ventura County Sheriff's deputies Saturday off Pacific Coast Highway at Deer Creek Road. Panga boat
San Diego, California – A 24-foot boat carrying multiple migrants washed ashore near Windansea Beach in La Jolla early Sunday morning, prompting a swift response from federal and local authorities.
The U.S. Coast Guard first spotted the cuddy cabin-style vessel around 5 a.m. drifting near the shoreline. According to Customs and Border Protection (CBP), agents observed several individuals disembarking the boat and fleeing toward the intersection of Coast Boulevard and Prospect Street.
CBP agents from the Imperial Beach Station responded quickly, ultimately apprehending nine individuals suspected of entering the country without legal documentation. The migrants were transported to a nearby Border Patrol station for processing and removal procedures. It remains unclear whether additional individuals were aboard the vessel who may have evaded capture.
Local surfer Jon Burland was among the first to notice the boat.
“My neighbor asked me if I could smell gas. I said yes, and I noticed the boat along the reef here,” Burland said. “In the water, you could smell the gas.”
Burland, who had planned to surf early that morning, encountered a scene of hazmat personnel, Border Patrol agents, police officers, and lifeguards. Hours later, the boat still sat untouched on the sand, prompting concern.
“It seemed weird that no one had done anything to the boat, because it had now been hours since it had happened,” he said. Burland recorded drone footage and pulled out what appeared to be a car battery and a jug of gasoline from the vessel. “Yeah, it’s very sad and it’s terrible that people come to that and hire people, and fortunately, no one got hurt.”
The abandoned boat was eventually seized by Border Patrol and towed away.
Local resident Hilary Cole, who was walking her dog nearby, shared her thoughts after learning the boat’s origin.
“It just makes me sad for humanity and this world that people feel so unsafe and desperate from the conditions that they’re in that they have to go through these drastic measures,” she said.
Federal authorities have not released further details on the identities or nationalities of those apprehended. The incident adds to a growing number of maritime smuggling attempts along the Southern California coast in recent years.
