FLORIDA- An American man is awaiting sentencing after he pleaded guilty to smuggling 13 undocumented migrants from Bimini.
The U.S Coast Guard stopped Milton Morgan Ferrell III on the evening of March 13 at approximately 18 nautical miles east of Key Biscayne, Florida.
The owner of the 24-foot Sea Fox 286 Commander had reported the vessel stolen from a North Bay Village three days earlier.
Initially, Ferrell identified himself as the captain. He said that he and his girlfriend had left Coconut Grove, Florida with 13 friends for The Bahamas.
However, Ferrell could not identify any of them by name.
That’s when, Ferrell told the U.S. Coast Guard crew, “Y’all know what this is. I tried and I got caught.”
In his post-Miranda statement, Ferrell said that he and his girlfriend went to Bimini on the stolen boat on March 11.
He met up with a friend, identified only as “Joe,” who had arranged the smuggling trip.
Ferrell admitted to smuggling migrants from The Bahamas to the United States in the past but said his most recent trip was his biggest load.
Ferrell had $3,600 in U.S. and Bahamian currency at the time of his arrest.
Some of the immigrants said that they been kept in a safe house in Bimini prior to the smuggling trip.
They said they had paid the smugglers between $3,000 and $6,000 each while in The Bahamas and were expected to pay an additional $3,000 to $6,000 when they arrived in the United States.
