Photo: CBS 12
What was a Russian man trying to do with a stolen yacht in Martin County?
That's what Sheriff John Budensiek is trying to figure out, after his deputies and FWC officers took 29-year old Nikolai Vilkov into custody on Monday.
"A theory is this vessel was being stolen and moved to the Bahamas for a smuggling venture, but we have not been able to verify that."
He says that Vilkov is himself an illegal immigrant who entered the country by asking for asylum at the southern border back in 2022.
During a press conference yesterday, the sheriff said Vilkov, along with his wife and child, flew from Turkey to the Mexico border with Texas in November of 2022 and then the next month they went to the border.
They asked for and were granted asylum to enter the United States.
The sheriff says there's now an ICE detainer on the man.
"The next time he steals a vessel, if he does steal a vessel, it will be back in Russia not here in the United States."
Vilkov will be deported after serving his time for the crimes in Martin County.