The Mexican Navy has rescued 28 minors who were allegedly being transported illegally aboard a vessel without a declared route.

There are conflicting reports about Thursday’s incident, which occurred near the port of Topolobampo in the municipality of Ahome in the northern Pacific state of Sinaloa.

The Sinaloa Prosecutor’s Office reported that the Navy intercepted the ship, adding that the youngsters had been recruited as day laborers from somewhere in southern Mexico.

“In a rescue operation carried out by the Naval Ministry, 28 people were assisted — 27 between the ages of 14 and 17 and one 18-year-old — who were on a vessel at sea,” the Sinaloa authorities said, according to the newspaper La Jornada.

However, the Navy said in an official statement that it provided support to the 28 people who arrived on their own at the port facility of Terminal 2 in La Paz, Baja California Sur.

The Navy operation was carried out after naval personnel detected an unusual situation upon the group’s arrival in La Paz, prompting their intervention. 

With the support of local authorities, the young people were transferred across the Gulf of California to Topolobampo aboard the Santa Marcela II, a vessel that belongs to Transportes Marítimos de California, which provided the transport free of charge.

The Navy said that a preliminary investigation indicates the children were from the southern state of Chiapas, which borders Guatemala. They have been placed under the care of Sinaloa’s northern regional deputy prosecutor’s office, with the support of the national children’s protective services agency. 

While confirming that no arrests have been made, Sinaloa authorities are attempting to determine the legal status of the children and are investigating the case as possible human trafficking. However, they had not determined if or when they had been recruited, La Jornada reported, nor had they identified the vessel’s final destination.

If it is deemed that this is a case of human trafficking, federal prosecutors are expected to take the lead in the investigation. 

The director of the home office of the National System for the Integral Development of the Family (DIF) told La Jornada that the children said they had not been kidnapped or mistreated. However, the news site Animal Político cited a Navy report indicating that the Marines “found the minors on board in conditions suggesting they had been illegally transported.”

With reports from La Jornada, Animal Político and Infobae