TWENTY-ONE illegal aliens from China paid $4,500 each to be smuggled into Guam by boat, according to a recently unsealed indictment.
“Given the number of passengers, two boats operated by four total boat crew (two crew members on each boat) were utilized to facilitate the transport. The boat passage commenced from Saipan at night and took approximately twelve hours to complete the journey of approximately 100 nautical miles (115 statute miles) to Guam. Upon arriving at Ritidian Point on the north shore of Guam, the two boats took turns pulling up to the reef line so the Illegal Aliens could jump off the boat and swim and wade to shore. After dropping off the Illegal Aliens, the two boats departed Guam and returned to the CNMI,” the indictment stated.
The first boat was a 25-foot, 1981 Boston Whaler Frontier operated by William J. Cabrera Jr. and an individual identified only as “K.P.”
The second boat was an 18-foot, 1996 Mckee Craft Pulse 1800 operated by Steven Villagomez Pangelinan and Steven Chris Tomokane.
Pangelinan and Cabrera were each charged with conspiracy to transport illegal aliens.
Tomokane was charged separately and pled guilty to the charge of conspiracy to transport illegal aliens on Sept. 10, 2024. The District Court for the NMI has yet to schedule his sentencing.
No other information regarding “K.P.” was available as of press time Thursday evening.
A task force consisting of federal and local law enforcers arrested Pangelinan on Sept. 17 while Cabrera was arrested on Sept. 18.
Both pled not guilty and were released on their own personal recognizance.
Magistrate Judge Heather Kennedy has scheduled their jury trial for Nov. 19 at 10 a.m.
