Boat From Mexico Seized Off Newport

A small boat from Mexico was spotted attempting to land in the surf at Huntington Beach State Park early Sunday, and the three men on board shoved several packages into the ocean before they were arrested, officials said.

Orange County sheriff's spokesman Jim Amormino said lifeguards near Tower 7 at Magnolia Street noticed the panga just outside the surf line around 8 a.m.

But when the men on the boat saw lifeguard and police trucks on the beach, "they went back out to sea and began throwing things into the water,'' Amormino said.

Sheriff's Department, lifeguard and Harbor Patrol boats later intercepted the craft 1 mile from the Newport Beach pier and took the trio into custody.

The panga had been reported stolen in Mexico, Amormino said.

— City News Service