A Florida man has been charged with 25 counts of human smuggling as authorities say he smuggled migrants from the Bahamas to the Sunshine State.
According to court documents, on February 29, 2024, Milano and a companion traveled from Brevard County to The Bahamas in a 42-foot fishing vessel.
During a brief stop in the Bahamas, Milano loaded 25 non-U.S. citizen migrants onto the vessel, returning to Brevard County shortly after.
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Milano allegedly forced all 25 migrants to lie flat on the deck of the vessel throughout the voyage back to the United States.
That evening, as officers from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission were conducting routine safety inspections in the Intracoastal Waterway, Indian River region, they encountered Milano and boarded his vessel.
Once on board, they discovered the migrants still lying flat on the deck.
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Federal and local law enforcement agencies responded, and the U.S. Coast Guard took custody of the migrants to process and repatriate them.
If convicted, Michael Andrew Milano, 42, Merritt Island, faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison for each count.
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