They had paid handsomely for the trip, but they did not have a vacation in mind. As El Nacional reports, the Navy arrested 35 illegal boat travelers yesterday, 17 of which were dropped off by the people smugglers at Cabeza de Toro beach, 15 minutes from Punta Cana or Bavaro tourist sites. The group had been told they were being dropped off in Puerto Rico, where they originally had thought they were being taken. The other 18 of the group, were detected 15 miles of eastern point of Cabo Engano, on board a 20 foot boat.
The group of 17 detained in Cabeza de Toro on 26 February from Arroyo Barril, in Samana. They said they paid the trip organizers collectively RD$510,000. The 18 arrested near Cabo Engano had departed from Nagua, on the northeastern coast, on 26 February, and said they had collectively paid RD$400,000.