The migrants were mostly Chinese citizens along with citizens from Brazil, Cuba and Ecuador, police said Friday
A group of more than 30 migrants, most of them Chinese citizens, was found inside a U-Haul truck Friday after a report of an alleged abduction, Florida authorities said.
The discovery began when a security guard for a homeowners association in the Miami suburb of Coral Gables reported seeing an abduction around 9:35 a.m., Coral Gables Police Chief Edward James Hudak Jr. told reporters.
The guard reported seeing a Toyota and a U-Haul truck involved in the incident and immediately alerted a patrol officer, the chief said. The officer then issued a BOLO, a be on the lookout alert, for the vehicles.
The vehicles were stopped by officers, and the woman who was allegedly abducted was taken from the Toyota. Officers then began investigating the U-Haul truck, which had 16 Chinese females, 15 Chinese males, one male from Cuba and a female from Ecuador, according to police.
“Officers opened the back of the truck, which revealed 21 predominantly Chinese nationals,” Hudak said.
In addition to the migrants in the Toyota were a Cuban man, a Brazilian woman and a man from Ecuador, police said.
“We do believe these individuals were brought here by the water,” the chief said. “They were probably dropped off, we’re assuming somewhere around the southern end of Coral Gables and approached on foot to the van where they were loaded into.”