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Boatful of illegal aliens wash up on Palm Beach, less than 5 miles from Mar-a-Lago; citizen tipped off cops

January 19, 2020 | | Print Article
(WPTV Video screenshots)

At least twelve Chinese, Cuban and Bahamian nationals came ashore early Friday morning less than five miles from President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, and only hours before the president arrived for a weekend visit.

One onlooker immediately reported what he or she saw to the Palm Beach Police Department.

“A citizen complaint that a boat came ashore on the island, there was a landing, and people disembarked from the boat and fled onto the island,” PBPD public information officer Michael Ogrodnick said in a statement to local station WPTV.

Watch footage captured by the onlookers of the boat coming ashore:

Given as Palm Beach County is not a “sanctuary” for illegal aliens, PBPD immediately got in touch with U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

With both CBP and the Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office assisting, PBPD officers then reportedly rushed to the scene to try to apprehend the illegals before they fled into neighboring communities.

The operation proved to be successful.

Watch suspects being detained below:

Both the illegals and the boat were turned over to CBP after their apprehension.

Officials with the Department of Homeland Security confirmed with local station WPBF late Friday that they hadn’t yet determined whether the 12 who were apprehended were the only ones on the boat.

“Homeland Security told WPBF 25 News that they are interviewing the migrants to determine if they have everyone who was on the boat,” the station reported.

Speaking with WPTV, DHS officials did confirm, though, their strong belief that what happened Friday is linked to some sort of smuggling operation.

In fact, only a day before this occurred, the Associated Press ran a bombshell story about another smuggling operation in the general area.

“Authorities have thwarted two separate attempts by smugglers to bring Chinese migrants illegally into the U.S. through Florida aboard yachts,” the AP revealed.

“Three men are facing human smuggling charges in federal courts in Miami and Fort Lauderdale. The Miami Herald first reported they are accused of ferrying a total of 26 Chinese migrants from the Bahamas in two unrelated cases where authorities also confiscated more than $300,000.”

One attempt occurred in December and involved suspect 51-year-old Rocco Oppedisano reportedly piloting a yacht brimming with 14 Chinese illegals and one Bahamian.

The other attempt happened last July and involved two men trying to use a yacht again to smuggle 12 Chinese illegals into the Florida area.

It should be noted that the boat seen in Palm Beach on Friday was not a yacht.

See more footage from Friday’s arrests below:

And even more footage further below:

The events on Palm Beach occurred only about a month after a Chinese national was arrested at Mar-a-Lago for “loitering and prowling,” as well as resisting arrest.

Lu was not the first national to be arrested at Mar-a-Lago under suspicious circumstances.

Last April, U.S. Secret Service agents arrested a Chinese national, Yujing Zhang, after she lied in an attempt to gain access to the luxury resort. Theories emerged at the time that she might be a spy for China’s Communist government.

“Included in her possessions were four cell phones, a laptop, an external drive, two passports, and a thumb drive with malware. … While espionage isn’t one of the charges Zhang is facing, the March 30 incident raises suspicion as to whether her actions tie to an espionage attempt on Trump,” The Epoch Times reported.

“There are rumors she’s connected to Republican donor Li Yang, who promised Chinese business leaders access to Mar-a-Lago, but there isn’t yet conclusive evidence to support that.”

Months later in November, Zhang was convicted, sentenced to eight months in prison and ordered to be deported.

“Zhang is currently awaiting deportation and is being held at the Glades County Detention Center,” WPTV notes.

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Vivek Saxena
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