Coast Guard officials say a tip called into Santa Barbara Police led to the arrest of 20 people on a boat in the Channel Islands, who were trying to get into the United States illegally from Mexico.
The tip came in just before 5 p.m. yesterday (2/23), and the Coast Guard deployed a helicopter, and boat.
They intercepted the ponga boat about three nautical miles off of Santa Rosa Island, at around 8 p.m.
Coast Guard officials say the boat was dangerously overloaded at the time.
They turned the 20 people over to customs, and immigration officials for processing, and deportation back to Mexico.
