Coast Guard detains 8 migrants off Point Loma in San Diego

Another vessel suspected of carrying illegal migrants was intercepted off the Southern California coast, merely days after nearly a dozen individuals managed to reach upscale Newport Beach before disappearing into the area.

The Coast Guard intercepted the 21-foot boat approximately six miles off Point Loma on Tuesday night, discovering eight adults aboard the vessel.

Watchstanders at the Joint Harbor Operations Center first detected the suspicious craft at 8:02 p.m., prompting a boarding team from the Coast Guard Maritime Safety and Security Team in Los Angeles/Long Beach to investigate.

The crew successfully ensured compliance after approaching the vessel, detaining all eight individuals aboard, whom the Coast Guard identified as suspected migrants.

The group was taken to Ballast Point and handed over to US Border Patrol agents for further assessment.

This interception occurred shortly after authorities were left searching for another group that managed to land in Newport Harbor on Saturday and then disappear among luxurious homes.

A grainy surveillance camera recorded the group hastily leaving the vessel near the Balboa Island Ferry and dispersing in various directions.

“They showed zero regard for safety, just charged in and everyone jumped out and scattered into the neighborhood,” Newport Beach City Council member Erik Weigand stated previously.

Authorities are currently seeking additional footage from public and private security cameras to assist in identifying the group, possibly utilizing facial recognition technology.

It remains uncertain whether anyone awaited their arrival onshore or if vehicles facilitated their quick escape.

These consecutive events are part of a growing trend of migrant vessels encountered in Southern California waters.

In a prior landing near Newport Harbor, over 20 suspected migrants leapt from a panga boat and entered waiting vans, while the Coast Guard has also intercepted groups of 21 and 24 individuals.

In another instance, 37 suspected migrants were rescued nearly 100 miles offshore after their vessel was reportedly left adrift for two days without sustenance or fuel.

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