Late-Night Smuggling Operation Halted as CBP Agents Shoot Boat Engine in Tense Interception

Suspect ignored warnings, forcing agents to fire; three arrested after vessel stopped in USVI waters

Customs and Border Protection agents intercepted a late-night smuggling attempt on Wednesday, as they tracked a vessel without lights heading towards Leinster Bay, St. John, from Tortola. The agents, stationed for marine interdiction, observed the boat passed between Little Thatch Cay and Frenchman Cay in Tortola, crossed the international border into U.S. waters and eventually pull into the bay with at least three individuals on board. What followed was a tense pursuit, culminating in gunfire and the arrest of the boat’s occupants, revealing a suspected alien smuggling operation.

As the boat continued its journey, CBP agents on St. John watched it pull into Leinster Bay in Annaberg, reportedly with at least three people on board. Two of them disembarked and began walking up a trail from the beach. CBP agents apprehended them as they made their way up the trail, while additional agents on the water maneuvered closer to the suspicious boat.