SAN DIEGO – Two U.S. sailors were arrested on suspicion of helping to smuggle immigrants through a patrol station near the San Ysidro border crossing, according to a Navy spokesman.
The two San Diego-based sailors, both petty officers second class, were scheduled to appear in federal court Thursday, said Scott Sutherland, deputy public affairs officer for Navy Region Southwest in San Diego.
He did not release their names but told the San Diego Union-Tribune that the men were friends. One worked as a military police officer at the shore-patrol station, and the other was assigned to a helicopter squadron at North Island Naval Air Station.
A spokeswoman with U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement said agents had taken the men into custody, but wouldn't say when they were arrested and declined additional comment. The shore-patrol building sits adjacent the U.S-Mexico border, about 100 yards from the port of entry.
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