CBP Agents Intercept Human Smuggling From Tortola to St. John

One man is before the Virgin Islands District Court After Customs and Border Protection officials interrupted an attempt at smuggling people across the border from Tortola to St. John.

CBP Marine Interdiction Agents were patrolling the coastline near Leinster Bay in St. John on the evening of February 23, when they spotted a boat near the shoreline of Tortola. According to court documents, using their night vision goggles, the agents say they followed the vessel’s journey from Tortola, across international waters, and into Leinster Bay near the Annaberg ruins. The boat, officials say, was operating with no navigational lights on board.

After the boat turned around and began heading back to Tortola, the agents activated their own lights and sirens, commanding the vessel to heave to. The captain, identified as Lorenzo Charles, a citizen of St. Vincent & the Grenadines, was apprehended and the boat towed to St. Thomas.

Apart from Charles, there were five others on board - three Indian nationals including a minor, one Argentinian national, and a national of the Dominican Republic. All six were determined not to be citizens of the United States, and had entered the country illegally.