Pubdate: Thu, 03 Jan 2013
Source: Malibu Times, The (CA)
Copyright: 2013 The Malibu Times
Contact:  http://www.malibutimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1363
Author: Jimy Tallal

OFFICIALS CALL FOR MEETING WITH HOMELAND SECURITY ON PANGA SMUGGLERS

The Number of Malibu-Area Panga Boat Incidents Increased in 2012;
Issue Heats Up After Coast Guard Officer Killed Near Port Hueneme.

Congressman Henry Waxman and members of the California Congressional
Delegation recently wrote to U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Secretary Janet Napolitano to express concern about increased panga
boat smuggling activity along the Southern California coast and
request a briefing on how the federal government is improving coastal
security.

The smuggling activity turned fatal with the Dec. 2 death of Coast
Guard Chief Petty Officer Terrell Horne III, 34, when the panga he and
his team were pursuing rammed the Coast Guard boat, knocking him
overboard into a propeller off the coast of Port Hueneme. Two Mexican
nationals were apprehended off the San Diego coast and charged in Los
Angeles with killing the federal officer.

Maritime smuggling activity in Southern California has steadily
increased every year since 2008 when the government began keeping
records. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) recorded 210
incidents in 2012, up from 121 incidents in 2010. During the past two
months alone, there have been 20% more smuggling events than the over
same time period the previous year.

Malibu's own experience reflects the bigger picture, with three
incidents reported in 2011 and five incidents in 2012. Of the eight
known smuggling events, five occurred at Deer Creek - a beach just
north of Neptune's Net, which tends to be favored for contraband
drop-offs because of its isolation, proximity to Pacific Coast Highway
and stairway up from the beach.

Additionally, incidents have occurred at Leo Carrillo State Beach,
Pirate's Cove at Point Dume and Latigo Beach. Up to 4,000 pounds of
marijuana have been confiscated and up to 10 people have been detained
in these busts.

Pangas are the vessel of choice for Mexican smugglers, Virginia Kice
of the ICE said. They're lightweight and can be equipped with outboard
engines that make them faster than many law enforcement boats (but
still not quicker than U.S. aircraft).

"They're also very inexpensive," Kice said. "It's just an open-hull
skiff, so the Mexicans abandon them after landing and write off the
loss as part of doing business."

When the U.S.-Mexico border became more tightly controlled after 9/11,
smugglers found more creative ways of getting their primary
contraband-illegal immigrants and bales of marijuana-into the country.
In the past year or so, Kice noted, marijuana smuggling has become
much more prevalent than cases of human trafficking, with over 92,000
pounds of marijuana seized in 2012, four times the amount in 2011.

The pangas originate from Mexican towns near the U.S. border, Kice
said, where they head out to sea and then travel north along the coast
in the cover of darkness, running without lights.

Much of the maritime smuggling activity is tied to the Sinaloa Cartel
in Mexico, Kice stated. The cartel controls the smuggling routes, and
the smugglers pay a fee to use them.

"An effort like this involves an infrastructure both north and south
of the border," Kice explained.

When maritime smuggling first began increasing, most pangas landed in
San Diego or Orange Counties. However, once law enforcement started
intercepting more boats, smugglers began heading farther north for
drop-offs, and are now routinely caught in Los Angeles, Ventura, Santa
Barbara and San Luis Obispo Counties.

Law enforcement agencies now pool their resources and work together to
catch the smugglers. The Department of Homeland Security's Central
California Maritime Agency Coordination Group in the Malibu area
consists of the California National Guard Counter Drug Task Force,
U.S. Coast Guard, DHS (which includes ICE), Homeland Security
Investigations, Los Angeles County Fire Department (including
lifeguards), California State Parks and LA County Sheriff 's
Department. The National Guard, for example, has access to
high-powered night vision surveillance equipment not readily available
to the sheriff 's department.

Depending on the outcome of Waxman's meeting with Homeland Security
Secretary Janet Napolitano, these law enforcement agencies may have
the benefit of more federal funding.

"The recent rise in smuggling off of the California coast is
troubling," Congressman Waxman said in a statement. "It is critical
that our borders and our coasts are secure from drug and human
trafficking and I'm committed to ensuring that federal, state and
local officials have sufficient resources to combat this illegal activity." 
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jo-D