Moment boat smuggling 14 illegal immigrants intercepted off Newport Beach in latest federal takedown

Shopping Amazon's Prime Big Deal Days are back, but they won't last long. Shop our picks! New bodycam footage shows the moment federal agents with guns drawn boarded a suspected human trafficking boat off the coast of Newport Harbor.

The harrowing video from US Customs and Border Protection revealed Saturday’s interception of the vessel carrying 14 suspected illegal migrants from Mexico. The boat was taken into Newport Harbor and seized by authorities, with its passengers taken into custody. 

A previously deported illegal migrant, Mexican national Jose Miguel Castro‑Duenas, 44, was charged Tuesday with attempted transportation of illegal aliens and illegal reentry, the Department of Justice said.

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The action occurred Saturday around 1:30 p.m. Saturday, when officers aboard a US Customs and Border Protection Interceptor Vessel spotted a suspicious fishing-type boat in the waters off the wealthy Orange County enclave.

The high-speed Interceptor is shown speeding to the alleged traffickers’ vessel, which was disguised as a recreational fishing boat.

“I got eight down here,” one CBP agent is heard saying while pointing a gun at the boat’s cabin.

“We’re going to take one out at a time, and I’m going to stay right here,” the official adds, as a crowd of suspected illegal migrants emerges from a chamber below the small boat’s deck.

The Interceptor is then seen racing into Newport Harbor with the captured boat, drawing the attention of those gathered for the annual Pacific Airshow, an event featuring US Air Force planes that draws massive crowds.

Officers at a dock took all those aboard into custody. One passenger suffering from dehydration and seasickness was evaluated and cleared by emergency medical workers.

Castro‑Duenas, who also uses the name Luis Enrique Santoyo‑Orozco, made an initial court appearance on October 5. His arraignment was set for November 9.

“This case reflects a brazen assault on the rule of law and the sovereignty of the United States, where a previously deported illegal alien smuggler unlawfully reentered our country and resumed smuggling operations in one of our coastal communities,” said First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli.

“We will not tolerate repeated violations of federal law or attempts to exploit our coastline as an entry point for illegal smuggling activity.”Feds say Castro‑Duenas admitted he is a Mexican citizen who unlawfully reentered the United States by boat near San Diego around September 5. He also said he had been previously deported in 2008 following a 2007 federal conviction for alien smuggling, for which he served approximately 13 months.

He also admitted that was working as a smuggler for an international crime ring, according to prosecutors. He said he owed his capos $18,000 for his own illegal entry to the US and that each smuggling pickup reduced his debt by $1,000.

Castro‑Duenas said the organization provided him with the Honda Pilot and a cell phone used to coordinate smuggling jobs and he was at Newport Beach Harbor on the morning of October 3 because he had been instructed to pick up individuals arriving by boat that day. He also admitted he had completed at least two prior smuggling pickups at the same location, feds say.

CBP’s latest interception came two weeks after a boat carrying suspected illegal migrants landed at a private dock in the harbor, dumping a dozen men ashore. The 20-foot vessel they arrived in was abandoned after striking and damaging a nearby boat.

The suspects then got into a pair of awaiting vehicles, according to witnesses. Authorities are investigating the incident.

Two weeks before, a Coast Guard cutter intercepted a 28-foot cabin boat carrying two dozen suspected illegal migrants in the waters due west of Newport. Those aboard were taken to Newport Harbor and handed over to Border Patrol.

Federal officials say more smugglers have taken to the sea as security has tightened at the US-Mexico border. Human traffickers commonly work with organized crime syndicates to move illegal migrants into the US.

Sneaking over water is the most expensive, and riskiest, way that illegal traffickers get people across the border, authorities say. Agents in July found 21 illegal migrants packed onto a small smuggling boat, including an unresponsive 56-year-old man who later died.

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