Local police and sheriff’s crews began detaining a large group of people they removed from a boat in Alamitos Bay Friday afternoon, according to witnesses.

Officials couldn’t immediately provide details about the incident, but a neighbor in the area said he saw the boat docked behind the Marina Pacific shopping center around 2 p.m.

Long Beach police and sheriff’s deputies were escorting several dozen people off the boat and detaining them on the shore, said the man, who asked not to be named but provided photos. He estimated the boat was about 32- to 34-feet.

“Absolutely weird as can be,” the neighbor said. “How did it make it all the way up here?”

Missy Maceyko said she saw the boat a few minutes before it docked. She was kayaking with her husband when they noticed a sheriff’s boat escorting the craft around 1:45 p.m. It then docked along the waterway near Marina Pacifica.

Long Beach police confirmed they were assisting with the incident—including dive team recovery operations—but they referred questions to Homeland Security officials. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement declined to comment, and other federal agencies didn’t immediately respond to questions.

A Long Beach police boat behind a boat that was carrying dozens of people, according to a witness. Courtesy photo.

Jeremiah Dobruck is managing editor of the Long Beach Post. Reach him at [email protected] or @jeremiahdobruck on Twitter.