Federal agents arrested three men on a 64-foot yacht near Government Cut on Sunday, Aug. 30, charging them with smuggling. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Air and Marine Operations agents stopped the vessel, a 2013 Prestige 620 Flyer named the Mi Amore, about one nautical mile east of the channel around 10:45 a.m.

An unnamed Colombian woman who lacked documentation to enter the country was aboard, according to a Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) complaint first reported by the Miami Herald. The complaint was filed in federal court Monday, Aug. 31.

Captain Mauricio Alvarez and mate Domenico Giovani Laurenti crewed the Mi Amore. Passenger Juan Felipe Morales, a Colombian national with legal permanent resident status in the U.S., was also on board, the complaint states.

Alvarez told agents that Morales hired him through a contractor to sail to Bimini in the Bahamas, pick up Morales and the woman, and bring them back to Miami. Laurenti told agents Alvarez hired him.

During the stop, agents found a 1911A1 Tanker .45-caliber pistol and ammunition in Laurenti's bag. Laurenti told agents he knew he had the weapon when he left the U.S. and brought it back without declaring it to Customs, as required by law, the complaint states.

Agents brought all three men to Coast Guard Station Miami for questioning. The unnamed woman was taken aboard a U.S. Coast Guard cutter.

All three face a federal charge of encouraging and inducing an undocumented person to enter and reside in the United States. Laurenti faces an additional charge for illegally bringing a firearm and ammunition into the country.

It was not clear whether the three were in custody, and information on their legal counsel was not immediately available. The case is pending in federal court.