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Migrants Arrive on Vessel in Pompano Beach in Human Smuggling Operation

A total of 13 people were taken into custody, including those from Haiti, Jamaica and Sierra Leone among other locations

A boat allegedly carrying a group of migrants pulled into a Pompano Beach inlet Wednesday afternoon, but law enforcement officials quickly intervened, surveillance video shows.

The vessel came ashore in the 2600 block of Riverside Drive near Hillsborough Inlet and deputies responded to the scene around 5:54 p.m., Broward Sheriff's Office officials said.

The boat's occupants ignored police and tried to escape on foot but were quickly caught, officials said. Homeland Security officials said the incident was human smuggling, and the boat came from Bimini.

John Derynda said he witnessed the whole scene play out from his balcony, and security cameras from his condo community captured what transpired.

"They immediately crashed into the seawall at our condo," he said. "Everybody jumped out of the boat except for the driver and one other person. And they all kind of scattered."

The video shows a law enforcement official jumping out of the patrol boat, drawing his gun.

A total of 13 people were taken into custody, including those from Haiti, Jamaica and Sierra Leone among other locations.

Investigators are now going through the boat before it's towed away. U.S. Customs and Border Patrol is the organization handling the case.

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