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More than 2 dozen Chinese migrants in custody after alleged smuggling operation in Coral Gables

Smuggling operation busted in Coral Gables
Smuggling operation busted in Coral Gables 02:47

MIAMI - A 911 call led Coral Gables police to intercept two vans transporting 26 migrants Tuesday morning in what authorities believe is the second human smuggling operation within city limits in less than two weeks.

Two alleged smugglers, along with 26 Chinese migrants – nine women and 17 men – were taken into custody, Coral Gables Police Chief Edward James Hudak Jr. said in a press conference.

"We believe they came by boat, they came through a secluded area in the southern end of Coral Gables," Hudak Jr. said. "They're coming up through a canal area that leads to a private marina."

The alleged smugglers were of Cuban and Puerto Rican descent and were carrying a firearm, police said.

According to Coral Gables Police, the incident took place at approximately 8:03 a.m. near Old Cutler Road and SW 120th St., when authorities received a 911 call about two white vans possibly transporting migrants.

The 26 Chinese migrants were allegedly discovered while traveling in the vans, with each vehicle carrying 13 migrants, police said. The migrants were later loaded onto county trolleys by federal agents, aerial images showed. 

Hudak Jr. said they believe this was a smuggling operation and not a human trafficking case.

"There was documentation, there was currency, this is not something where people were against their will," Hudak Jr. said. "There was also evidence impounded, including a firearm that is being processed and will be turned over to HSI. We are very concerned that a firearm was recovered because, in the end, we are concerned about our officers' safety and the public's safety."

The Coral Gables Police Department said the Department of Homeland Security has taken over the investigation. Several law enforcement agencies were involved in the apprehensions. 

"There is no place for human smuggling in the city of Coral Gables, much less Florida," said John Vecchio, special agent with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. 

"I have empathy for people wanting a better life, but they need to do it the right way," a Coral Gables neighbor who lives across the street from where the migrants were intercepted told CBS News Miami.

The incident took place roughly two weeks after Coral Gables police busted a similar smuggling operation

"I cannot definitively say this was connected, but this is one of those things where it was very similar to what happened two weeks ago," said Hudak Jr.

The chief of police was asked if he thought the smugglers came from the Bahamas, but he could not say. He did say that authorities are watching that area and "need to be ready."

Hudak Jr. commended his officers for responding quickly, the person who called 911 and others who are willing to do the same. He said there was an "increased awareness" about the need for people to contact police.

Another human smuggling case in Coral Gables

On Jan. 17, 21 migrants, including predominantly Chinese nationals plus one Ecuadorian and a Cuban, were discovered in a U-Haul truck following an alleged abduction and human smuggling operation.

Around 9:35 a.m. that Friday, a security guard for a homeowners association observed what appeared to be an abduction on Old Cutler Road. The guard reported seeing a Toyota vehicle and a U-Haul truck involved in the incident and immediately alerted a patrol officer, Coral Gables police said. 

Police then spotted and stopped both the Toyota and the U-Haul. A woman observed during the alleged abduction was safely removed from the vehicle and officers investigated the contents of the U-Haul.

Hudak Jr. said they believe the migrants may have arrived by water before being loaded into the U-Haul at a location in southern Coral Gables.

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