U.S. officials seek Newport residents’ help in preventing drug, human smuggling

Though California’s southern border is more than 100 miles from Newport Beach, U.S. Border Patrol and other Department of Homeland Security officials are seeking the community’s help in preventing smuggling of drugs and people from Mexico.

Four officials with Homeland Security, the Coast Guard and the Border Patrol spoke during the Chamber of Commerce’s Wake Up Newport breakfast Thursday about illegal human and drug shipments.

Because officials have increased staffing tasked with protecting the country’s border with Mexico, many smugglers have taken to the ocean to get their shipments to the United States, said Jeremy Thompson, director of marine operations with the Department of Homeland Security.

“It’s an evolving threat trend,” Thompson said.

When crossing the border from Mexico by car or airplane, people must stop for inspection at a particular checkpoint. However, no such place exists in the ocean, making it easier for smugglers to get their goods into California, said Beau Powers, lieutenant commander with the Coast Guard.

With 64,000 square miles of ocean to keep an eye on with limited resources, the panelists emphasized the need for public support in identifying potential lawbreakers.

“The curvature of the coastline makes it difficult to patrol since there’s so much water,” Powers said. “Often we use intelligence to guide us where to go, since we can’t be everywhere at once.”

Homeland Security has started a campaign asking the public to call 911 to report suspicious activity at beaches and harbors to help prevent drugs and unauthorized people from entering the country.

“We rely heavily on the public to increase our footprint,” Thompson said.

The officials said they couldn’t quantify how often drugs or humans are smuggled into Newport Beach.

However, they estimated that people try to illegally cross into the United States from Mexico by sea at least every week.

Drug shipments typically are hidden in recreational boats that can blend in when docked in a harbor, officials said. Human smuggling is done primarily on Mexican fishing boats called pangas.

Pangas usually land on beaches at night, when they are less likely to draw attention, Thompson said.

Smugglers caught by U.S. officials are prosecuted and the people they bring with them are deported, the panelists said.