Three men and a woman identified by police as Haitians were arrested Tuesday on St. John and charged with illegal entry into the United States.
Lt. Rene Garcia, Cruz Bay police commander, said the four, who were taken into custody near Coral Bay, may have been part of a larger group of illegal aliens whose other members are believed to be in hiding.
"Around 8:15 this morning, a citizen called to report about 15 illegals dropped off in the area of Zootenvaal," Garcia said. Around the same time Tuesday, other residents observed about 11 people walking on the road from Haulover Bay, a secluded area about two miles east of Zootenvaal.
The four arrests Tuesday followed those early Monday morning of 11 individuals, five identified as Chinese and five as Haitians, on the island's North Shore. Chief Park Ranger Schuyler Brown said they, too, were believed to be part of a larger group — one that landed on the beach at Cinnamon Bay Campground in a 26-foot open power boat. "Yesterday the boat got swamped," Brown said. "We're trying to salvage it."
The vessel, named the Dieukidonne, plowed into the sand shortly after 6 a.m. Monday, Brown said. Park rangers investigating the vessel found three 55-gallon drums of gasoline aboard, he added, calling the landing "very risky" under the circumstances.
The four individuals picked up Tuesday were turned over to U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service authorities. The 11 persons arrested Monday appeared at an advice of rights hearing Tuesday afternoon in U.S. District Court on St. Thomas.
