Drug smuggling

Three people held in alleged drug smuggling off Pescadero coast

Three people were detained in Pescadero early Sunday in connection with a possible drug smuggling incident off the coast of Año Nuevo State Park, authorities said.

The Coast Guard, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, and the San Mateo County Sheriff’s office worked together to apprehend the suspects. The sheriff’s office is leading an ongoing investigation.

A sheriff’s deputy was injured at the same location but his injuries were unrelated to the smuggling incident, said Salvador Zuno, a spokesman for the Sheriff’s Office. The deputy’s injuries are reportedly not life-threatening.The three people apprehended were suspected of smuggling narcotics using a panga boat, a midsize fishing boat favored by many drug traffickers because of the boat’s low profile, capacity for heavy loads and ability to land directly on beaches.

In some cases, traffickers build the hull and framework of their panga boats around the drugs, making it nearly impossible to find the illicit cargo without dismantling the boat itself.