A United States national has been slapped with 25 counts of human smuggling after he attempted to bring 25 Bahamian nationals into the country illegally.
The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency said that a Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Space Coast investigation has led to the indictment Michael Andrew Milano, 42, of Merritt Island, Florida, who if he is convicted, faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison for each count.
The indictment also notifies Milano that the United States intends to forfeit any property traceable to the proceeds of the offence and any property or conveyances used to facilitate or commit the offences.
According to court documents, on February 29, this year, Milano and a companion traveled from Florida to the Bahamas in a 42-foot fishing vessel.
The indictment said that during a brief stop in the Bahamas, “Milano loaded 25 non-US citizen migrants onto the vessel” before returning to Florida.
“Milano allegedly forced all 25 migrants to lie flat on the deck of the vessel throughout the voyage back to the United States,” the indictment adds, adding that evening, as officers from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission were conducting routine safety inspections in the Intracoastal Waterway and Indian River region, “they encountered Milano and boarded his vessel.
“On board, they discovered the migrants, still lying flat on the deck. Federal and local law enforcement agencies responded, and the US Coast Guard took custody of the migrants to process and repatriate them.”
