An American human smuggler has been jailed for 36 months after smuggling 13 undocumented migrants from Bimini on a stolen boat.
Milton Morgan Ferrell III, 37, was intercepted by the U.S. Coast Guard 18 nautical miles east of Key Biscayne, Florida on March 13.
The owner of the 24-foot Sea Fox 286 Commander had reported the vessel stolen from a North Bay Village marina three days earlier.
Ferrell, the son of a prominent Florida lawyer, was financially strapped and said he needed the money. As part of a plea deal, Ferrell forfeited the $3,600 in U.S. and Bahamian currency that he had on him at the time of his arrest.
In his post-Miranda statement, Ferrell said that he and his girlfriend went to Bimini in the stolen boat on March 11.
While there, he met “Joe”, the organizer of the smuggling trip. Some of the immigrants said that they been kept in a safe house in Bimini prior to the smuggling trip.
Ferrell admitted that he smuggled migrants before but said the trip was his biggest load.
The migrants told investigators that they had paid 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.
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