Crime & Safety
Panga Boat Busted With Help of Marina del Rey Sheriff's Vessel
A large amount of "suspected marijuana" is seized off the coast of Malibu.
A boat with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Marina del Rey station on Thursday helped recover a large amount of "contraband" thrown from a panga boat that was apparently trying to smuggle the contents of the boat into California from Mexico.
According to LASD, lifeguards with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department initially spotted the panga boat shortly before 7 a.m. Thursday and called the sheriff's department for assistance.
"Marina del Rey Sheriff’s Harbor Patrol boat Edgington was dispatched to locate the vessel, and the information was relayed to the United States Coast Guard via the Maritime Coordination Center," LASD said in a release. "The USCG immediately deployed three vessels and a helicopter for the search."
During a 30-minute pursuit, deputies said two suspects aboard the panga boat discarded contraband into the ocean. As the Coast Guard detained the boat, sheriff's deputies were able to recover "most of the contraband."
Coast Guard spokesman Adam Eggers said that about two dozen bails of "suspected marijuana" were retrieved by deputies from the ocean.
Two men aboard the boat were also arrested at around 9 a.m. in the ocean five miles southwest of Leo Carrillo State Beach, Eggers said.
- City News Service also contributed to this report.
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