Boat capsized off Orange County coast used in human smuggling event: LBPD

A boat found overturned off the Orange County coast early Wednesday morning was determined to have been used in a human smuggling event, police said.

The capsized vessel was reported just before 6 a.m. off Crescent Bay Beach in Laguna Beach.

Upon arrival, Laguna Beach police officers determined that the boat found overturned just outside the surf break had been abandoned.

A multi-agency search of the ocean was conducted for anyone in distress or injured, however no one was located.

"Nearby residential surveillance cameras led officers to believe this was a human smuggling event, given the discarded life vests and gasoline canisters in the area," the Police Department said.

The boat was towed from the surf line and is now in possession of U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

The investigation was turned over to the California Border Patrol and U.S. Coast Guard.