ROAD TOWN, Tortola — A British national from Tortola is facing a federal alien-smuggling charge in the United States after U.S. authorities intercepted a vessel allegedly carrying a family of three Indian nationals from St. Thomas to Culebra, Puerto Rico.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said the incident began at approximately 6:30 a.m. on September 15, when an Air and Marine Operations unit alerted the agency’s Fajardo Marine Unit to a vessel travelling from St. Thomas toward Culebra.
Marine Interdiction agents notified Puerto Rico Police officers on Culebra, who responded to the area where the vessel had made landfall.
Three people were detained after reaching shore. According to CBP, they identified themselves as Indian nationals travelling as a family unit — an adult man, an adult woman and a juvenile.
The Fajardo Marine Unit subsequently deployed two vessels to assist in the search and intercepted the boat allegedly used to transport the family. One person remained aboard.
Following interviews conducted by Ramey Sector Border Patrol agents and members of the Homeland Security Task Force’s Human Smuggling Unit, authorities identified the vessel operator as Kavon Wheatly, a British national from Tortola in the British Virgin Islands.
CBP said Wheatly was charged under 8 U.S.C. § 1324, a federal statute that criminalises, among other conduct, the knowing bringing in, transporting or harbouring of certain unauthorized immigrants.
The agency did not disclose whether the Indian nationals had paid for the trip, how long they had been in St. Thomas before departing, or where on the island the vessel originated.
CBP also did not provide further details about the circumstances surrounding the family’s arrival in Culebra.
The three Indian nationals will be processed under applicable U.S. immigration law and placed into removal proceedings, according to CBP. All four individuals were transported to the Ramey Border Patrol Station for further processing.
Authorities also intend to seize the vessel and its 200-horsepower engine under federal customs law.
“Human smugglers routinely place lives at risk for profit, using dangerous maritime routes and unsafe conditions,” said Christopher Hunter, director of CBP’s Caribbean Air and Marine Branch.
Hunter said the operation demonstrated the importance of coordination between CBP’s Air and Marine Operations, Border Patrol, the Puerto Rico Police and other federal partners.
A route previously linked to smuggling cases
The maritime corridor between St. Thomas and Culebra has previously featured in U.S. federal smuggling investigations.
In October 2024, CBP agents encountered a disabled vessel near West Cay after receiving information that undocumented migrants were being loaded in Fortuna Bay, St. Thomas.
According to a report by The Consortium, authorities encountered 10 passengers aboard that vessel — four Dominican nationals, four Romanians and two Brazilians — who investigators said had paid to be transported from St. Thomas to Culebra.
The vessel’s operator, Omailly Sanchez Taveras, was subsequently convicted of alien smuggling and sentenced in May 2026 to 10 months in federal prison.
The same maritime corridor has also been associated with drug-trafficking investigations.
In a separate case reported previously by The Consortium, CBP Air and Marine Operations agents pursued a vessel travelling between St. Thomas and Culebra in July 2025. During the pursuit, authorities said bags were thrown overboard and 65 packages of cocaine were subsequently recovered.
Charge remains an allegation
The charge against Wheatly is an allegation, and he is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.
As of CBP’s Friday announcement, the agency had not reported additional criminal charges against the three Indian nationals. Their cases are proceeding through the U.S. immigration system.
The latest incident highlights continued federal enforcement activity along the waters between the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, a maritime route that authorities have previously identified in investigations involving migrant smuggling and drug trafficking.