CBP detains VI man for allegedly smuggling Indian family to Culebra
CHARLOTTE AMALIE, St Thomas, USVI— A British national from Tortola is facing a federal alien-smuggling charge after US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said a vessel carrying a family of three Indian nationals travelled from St Thomas toward Culebra, Puerto Rico, where the passengers were detained after reaching shore.
CBP said the operation began at approximately 6:30 AM on September 15, 2026, 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 then notified Puerto Rico Police officers on Culebra, who responded to the area where the vessel had made landfall.
Officers detained three people who identified themselves as citizens of India travelling as a family unit — an adult man, an adult woman and a juvenile, according to CBP. 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.
Kavon Wheatley identified as boat operator
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 Wheatley, a British national from Tortola in the British Virgin Islands. CBP said Wheatley was charged under 8 U.S.C. § 1324, the federal statute covering the bringing in, harbouring and transportation of unauthorised immigrants.
CBP did not disclose in its Friday announcement whether the family had paid for the trip, how long they had been on St Thomas before departing, or where on St Thomas the vessel began its voyage. The agency also did not provide additional details about the circumstances under which the family reached Culebra.
The three Indian nationals will be processed under applicable immigration law and placed into removal proceedings, CBP said. All four people involved 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. He said the interdiction demonstrated the importance of coordination among Air and Marine Operations, Border Patrol, Puerto Rico Police and federal partners.
Smuggling route
The St Thomas-to-Culebra corridor has surfaced in previous federal smuggling cases. The Consortium reported that in October 2024, CBP agents encountered a disabled vessel near West Cay after receiving information that undocumented migrants were being loaded in Fortuna Bay on St Thomas. Authorities said ten passengers — four Dominican nationals, four Romanians and two Brazilians — had paid to be transported from St Thomas to Culebra. The vessel’s operator, Omailly Sanchez Taveras, was later convicted of alien smuggling and sentenced in May 2026 to 10 months in federal prison.
Federal authorities have also encountered drug-trafficking vessels moving along the same maritime corridor. In a separate case previously reported by the Consortium, CBP Air and Marine Operations agents pursued a vessel traveling between St. Thomas and Culebra in July 2025 and recovered 65 packages of cocaine after bags were thrown overboard during the chase.
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25 Responses to “CBP detains VI man for allegedly smuggling Indian family to Culebra ”
@WHAT..Being born anywhere does not help when you are doing illegal sh**. He might do 5 years and go home.
Wait. Wheatley... Wheatley.
Send him back where he came from. From what we know of Wheatley that would be Puerto Rico.
British National. Smuggling. Puerto Rico. Good, nothing to do with the VI that could further soil our name.
Does anyone know exactly who this person or family is? I recognize some members of the family, but I am not completely sure about their identity or circumstances.
Also, we should remember that travel between the islands is not the same as it was many years ago. There are proper immigration, border, and travel requirements, especially when traveling by private or commercial boat between places such as St. Martin, St. Thomas, and Tortola. There have also been situations where people have ended up at the wrong destination because of misunderstandings or mistakes.
Given the history of the region and the fact that maritime routes have been used for smuggling in the past, authorities naturally pay close attention to movements between the islands. Anyone traveling by boat should make sure they have the proper, current documentation and understand the relevant immigration and navigation requirements.
I am only raising this because we are a small community, and it is important that we understand the facts before making assumptions about people or their background.