MIAMI – A 58-year-old man appeared in Miami federal court Monday on a charge of encouraging or inducing an alien to enter the United States after prosecutors allege he was busted Friday illegally trying to bring in six migrants to South Florida by boat.
According to court documents, on Friday, U.S. Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations intercepted a boat heading westbound from the Bahamas about one-and-a-half nautical miles off Haulover Beach, in Miami-Dade County.
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Prosecutors allege the boat’s captain, Peter Sterz, denied having anyone aboard, but a search of the vessel turned up six undocumented foreign nationals: two Haitians, two Jamaicans and two Guyanese.
All were taken into the custody of the U.S. Coast Guard and Sterz was booked into the Broward County jail.
Sterz was later released on a $250,000 surety bond, which means he didn’t have to post bail. However, if he fails to appear in court, he can be sued for that amount.
A judge ordered him to surrender his passport and submit to electronic monitoring. He’s also prohibited from boat travel.
Sterz is set to be arraigned in Miami federal court on Jan. 29, according to online records.