THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, June 24, 1994 TAG: 9406240533
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: 940624 LENGTH: CAPE MAY, N.J.
Kenneth ``David'' Wong, a naturalized U.S. citizen born in China, was arrested at his home. Thai Nguyen of Lower Township and two other men allegedly involved also were indicted on conspiracy and alien-smuggling charges, said U.S. Attorney Faith Hochberg.
{REST} Meanwhile, 18 ``enforcers'' said to have helped carry out the plan and six crew members were brought ashore in Cape May in handcuffs after Coast Guard cutters escorted the 75-foot fishing vessel Captain Denny into port.
The two others who were indicted - Tin Van Dinh and Hung Tuy Phan - were to meet the Captain Denny in Norfolk and bring its human cargo to New Jersey, Hochberg said.
They were arrested in Norfolk as they waited for the vessel to dock, Hochberg said.
But there were still questions about the nationals' identities and how long they'd been at sea in the Captain Denny, which was seized Saturday, 350 miles east of Norfolk.
It wasn't clear how many people were being smuggled. The Coast Guard had said 108. Hochberg said 120.
The aliens, who were transferred from the Captain Denny to a Coast Guard cutter, remained at sea Thursday while the State Department pondered what to do with them, officials said.
The vessel had picked up the aliens from an unnamed ``mother ship'' between June 14 and June 18 in an Atlantic Ocean rendezvous, Hochberg said. It wasn't clear when the ship left, where its last port was or how long the aliens were at sea.
Hochberg was stingy with details at a news conference outside the federal courthouse in Camden, N.J. The plot called for the Captain Denny to be bought and used to ferry the aliens from the rendezvous point - which wasn't indicated - to a Norfolk dock, she said.
She didn't release how much the people being smuggled had paid for passage or other details, saying the investigation was ongoing. She declined comment on whether the seizure was related to other smuggling cases.
It wasn't clear where the mother ship was, either.
In other cases, Chinese people have paid up to $30,000 for illegal passage to the U.S., said Department of Justice spokeswoman Ana Cobian in Washington.
Cobian said the Justice Department didn't know when the mother ship left China.
Nguyen, who piloted the vessel, bought it specifically for the smuggling operation with $140,000 in cash given to him by Wong, Hochberg said.
``We were tuna fishing,'' Nguyen said to reporters as he and four other people were hustled into federal court in Camden for arraignments. U.S. Magistrate Joel Rosen ordered them held pending a bail hearing Monday. No pleas were entered.
The other four were charged in a complaint with conspiracy and alien-smuggling.
They are: Tuan Van Doung, Hung Ngoc Phan, Tai Huu Phan and Hung D. Vo. Their ages and hometowns weren't given.
The five were being held overnight at the Gloucester County Jail in Woodbury, N.J., and were to be transferred Friday to a federal jail in Fairton, N.J.
One-by-one, the 18 ``enforcers'' were brought ashore in handcuffs after the Captain Denny was escorted into a Coast Guard station in Cape May. All appeared to be in good health as agents marched them into an impromptu processing center.
Two women were among the 24 brought ashore.
Among the federal agents and police awaiting them were three Coast Guard officials who wore protective suits with full-length aprons and gloves.
They did so as a precaution, Swift said.
``The word we have is that these people have been on this boat for a long time,'' Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Bill Mathus said.
``We don't know what infections they might have.''
{KEYWORDS} SMUGGLING ILLEGAL ALIEN by CNB