According to Reuters, US border patrol recently picked up two illegal immigrants who used dive scooters to cross from Mexico to California. This has to be the most thrilling personal sea scooter episode since that fight in Thunderball.
The two men, 38 and 16 years old, were walking on a beach south of San Diego wearing wetsuits and holding their scooters when they were spotted by a US Customs and Border Protection helicopter.
Michael Jiminez, a Border Proection spokesperson, explained:
These devices can be used to come north along the coastline and steer into shore … where they can meet someone who will pick them up in a vehicle and further their entrance into the United States.
His team didn’t find any scuba gear, however, and Jiminez says there’s no reason to believe they actually crossed the border underwater. I’m not gonna let that stand in the way of the excellent mental image I’ve got going on.
Apparently this is the first time suspected illegal immigrants has been apprehended after using dive scooters, though one turned back to Mexico after he was observed using a similar method last October. [MSNBC]
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