A federal grand jury in Miami has indicted five foreign nationals following a disrupted smuggling attempt that packed dozens of undocumented migrants onto a small, dark boat off the coast of Miami-Dade County late last month.
The incident began just after midnight on April 26, when law enforcement officials spotted a suspect vessel on radar moving west toward the Florida coast. A law enforcement boat intercepted the center-console vessel about five miles offshore. According to court records, the boat was operating without navigation lights in the dark. When officers activated their lights and sirens, the vessel slowed down and stopped.
Authorities identified 25 people on board the crowded boat, including the operator, 38-year-old Verdant Roosevelt Scott of The Bahamas. All individuals were transferred to the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Winslow Griesser for biometric screening and background checks.
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Those records checks revealed that four of the passengers—Zamfir Nitu, 50, of Romania; Donald Coote, 37, of Jamaica; Sergio Alejandro Correa Ramirez, 30, of Colombia; and Gheorghe Ion Chiperi, 43, of Moldova—had been previously deported from the United States.
The remaining 20 passengers on board were not charged with federal crimes and have been repatriated to The Bahamas.
The five accused men made their initial appearances in federal court on April 30 and May 1. As the alleged operator of the vessel, Scott is charged with 24 counts of encouraging and inducing aliens to enter the United States and two counts of aiding or assisting certain aliens to enter. If convicted, he faces a maximum of 10 years in prison.
The other four men are charged with illegal reentry of a deported alien. Because of prior aggravated felony convictions, Nitu and Coote face up to 20 years in prison if convicted. Correa Ramirez and Chiperi face up to two years in prison.
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The investigation is being led by Homeland Security Investigations Miami, with assistance from U.S. Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations and the U.S. Coast Guard. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Tanner Stiehl is prosecuting the case.
U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida and Acting Special Agent in Charge Jose R. Figueroa of Homeland Security Investigations Miami announced the charges.
An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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