Eleven women were among the 45 illegal Chinese immigrants picked up near Estate Zootenvaal on St. John's East End.
The group was taken into the custody of the Immigration and Naturalization Service with the help of V.I. police and agents of the U.S. Customs Service.
Few Chinese women have made the arduous journey through the Caribbean to the U.S. in recent years. According to news accounts, illegal Chinese immigrants who end up in the U.S. Virgin Islands make their way via at least two other Caribbean islands.
The number of illegal Chinese immigrants to enter the territory through St. Thomas and St. John this year is more than 200.
Attorney General Iver Stridiron said last week that Chinese nationals will continue to come through the territory as long as it remains is their best passage to the U.S. mainland. In a speech to members of Rotary II, the attorney general noted that processing Chinese immigrants through the V.I. justice system nets the territory federal reimbursements, making the V.I. Justice Department a revenue-generating agency
