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Smuggler's Boat Discovered On South Coast Beach; Search Fails To Find Suspects

(Ventura County Sheriff's Office photo)
A boat used for smuggling was found abandoned at a Santa Barbara County beach Friday morning

Authorities are looking for some smugglers who landed in Santa Barbara County sometime in the last day.

An abandoned 35-foot-long smuggling boat was found on the Gaviota coastline at Tajiguas Beach Friday morning.  It was equipped with two motors, and is the type of setup typically used by smugglers.

A search of the area failed to turn up any sign of the smugglers or drugs.  In the past, the boats have typically been used to bypass the border to move bales of marijuana from Mexico to the United States. 

Authorities intercepted one of the boats a few weeks ago in Santa Barbara County, arresting three people and seizing a large quantity of marijuana.

Lance Orozco has been News Director of KCLU since 2001, providing award-winning coverage of some of the biggest news events in the region, including the Thomas and Woolsey brush fires, the deadly Montecito debris flow, the Borderline Bar and Grill attack, and Ronald Reagan's funeral. 
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