Crime: Fishing boat detained in US

A Taiwanese fishing boat was detained by the US Coast Guard in connection with the smuggling of illegal Chinese fishermen into the US, a Coast Guard spokesman said on Friday. Stephen Lalonde said that the 18m Keelung-registered Fuhsing was involved in shipping 10 Chinese fishermen who sneaked ashore on Newport Beach, California. The 10 men, all in their 20s and 30s, swam ashore naked before dawn and changed quickly into dry suits, jeans and baseball caps, leaving life belts, life jackets and buoys. One of the life belts bore the words "Keelung-Fuhsing." Newport Beach police arrested all 10 men and alerted the Coast Guard, which later intercepted the boat off the California coast. An Immigration and Naturalization Service spokesman said the 10 men and two of the vessel's Taiwanese crew were being investigated by the INS. Tai-wanese officials in Los Angles were also said to be negotiating with the INS to visit the two crewmen as soon as possible.