Feds Intercept Boat Smuggling 19 From Bahamas, Passengers Had Dodged Deportation Before

Federal agents intercepted a boat carrying 19 people from the Bahamas about 22 nautical miles off the Miami-Dade coast, and among those aboard were three passengers who had already been ordered removed from the United States before trying again. A 36-year-old Bahamian citizen accused of operating the vessel was seen passing out handfuls of cash to passengers as agents closed in, according to court records described in the case.

The boat, which had traveled from Bimini in the Bahamas, was tracked by U.S. Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations agents as it approached South Florida, according to the Miami Herald. Once agents moved in, the 19 people aboard, including the alleged operator, were transferred to the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Richard Etheridge, a 154-foot Sentinel-class Fast Response Cutter homeported at Coast Guard Base Miami Beach, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. A records check aboard the cutter found that none of the people on the boat had permission to enter the United States, per the Herald's report.

Cash Changed Hands as Agents Approached

Agents allege the man accused of piloting the boat, identified as 36-year-old Bahamian citizen Henryk Erris Walkes, was seen passing out handfuls of cash to passengers as the vessel was stopped. Also aboard were 47-year-old Azain Vassor of Haiti, 36-year-old Darwis Campusano Carela of the Dominican Republic, and 36-year-old Wilson Mendoza Flores of Honduras, the outlet's report states.

Three of the men on the boat had been ordered removed from the United States previously. Vassor had been ordered removed in March, and Campusano Carela had been ordered removed in November 2025. Mendoza Flores had the longest paper trail of the group: according to the criminal complaint, he had been ordered removed from the country on May 3, January 27 and October 31, 2025, as well as back in May 2012, and had been sent back to Honduras four times since 2012.

Four Held Without Bail Pending Trial

A judge ordered Walkes, Vassor, Mendoza Flores and Campusano Carela held until trial, the report notes. As the alleged operator, Walkes faces the most severe federal exposure. Under 8 U.S.C. § 1324, bringing unauthorized noncitizens into the country outside a designated port of entry carries up to five years in prison per person aboard, rising to 10 years per person if prosecutors can show the run was made for commercial gain or private profit, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

The passengers with prior removal orders face a separate set of charges. Under 8 U.S.C. § 1326, illegal reentry after a prior deportation carries up to two years in prison, but that maximum climbs to 10 or 20 years for anyone with a prior felony or aggravated felony conviction, per Justice Department guidance. The remaining passengers who were not charged face repatriation to their country of origin or departure point, along with an indefinite disqualification from legal immigration parole programs under Department of Homeland Security rules updated in 2023, as detailed by U.S. Coast Guard News.

A Well-Worn Route Across the Florida Straits

Bimini sits roughly 48 to 50 nautical miles east of Miami across the Florida Straits, making it the closest Bahamian landmass to South Florida and a frequent staging point for smuggling runs, according to boater guides cited in maritime research. The short, narrow crossing lets fast boats attempt the trip in just a few hours, which has made it a persistent route for smuggling networks operating out of the Bahamas.

This interdiction fits a broader pattern that federal agencies have flagged along the Bimini-to-Miami corridor. Maritime stops off the South Florida coast operate under Homeland Security Task Force – Southeast and Operation Vigilant Sentry, a DHS-led framework that combines Coast Guard, CBP and local law enforcement resources to track and intercept unflagged boats before they reach U.S. waters.

Similar cases have played out repeatedly in recent years. In February 2025, CBP Air and Marine Operations intercepted a 27-foot boat carrying 24 undocumented migrants near Elliott Key after it was detected leaving Bimini, and federal prosecutors in the Southern District of Florida separately charged a Bahamian national and a Haitian national that same month after stopping a 25-foot boat carrying 20 migrants from Bimini, a case Hoodline covered at the time in coverage of a similar Bimini smuggling charge. In May, a federal jury in Fort Lauderdale convicted 32-year-old Bahamian national Terrance Wallace on alien smuggling and drug charges tied to a separate go-fast boat pipeline running migrants and contraband from the Bahamas into South Florida.