United States Coast Guard has said it intercepted a group of Russian nationals and migrants from the Dominican Republic were intercepted in US waters.
Fox News reports that Coast Guard said it has handed them over to federal immigration and border patrol authorities.
The boarder agency said that Puerto Rico law enforcement spotted the 20-foot “panga-style” boat about three nautical miles off the coast of Aguadilla and alerted the maritime agency.
Aguadilla is a town on Puerto Rico’s northwestern tip.
According to the report, the small vessel had five individuals onboard, with three men claiming to be Dominican Republic nationals, and a man and a woman who claimed to be Russian nationals.
The Coast Guard noted that one of the migrants had a previous criminal record in the US and was charged with attempted illegal re-entry into the country.
Meanwhile, two Russians, a man and a woman, were turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, ICE, “for investigation and removal.”
