Photo: Flagler County Sheriff / EFE
By: EFE Posted 06 Sep 2023, 18:42 pm EDT
A man trying to cross the Atlantic Ocean from Florida waters in a “hamster wheel”-shaped boat has been arrested on criminal charges and must appear in a Miami court after several attempts to carry out what he qualifies as “a dream,” the authorities reported.
Ray Baluchi, aka “Reza Ray Baluchi,” 44, is facing federal charges after United States Coast Guard (USCG) officials rescued him 70 miles (112 km) off Tybee Island, a city located in Chatham County, Georgia.
The adventurer was found on August 26 in his “strange contraption” of a hamster wheel by agents of the Seventh District of the Coast Guard, according to a criminal complaint to which EFE had access this Wednesday.
“Based on the state of the ship, which was afloat thanks to the cables and buoys, USCG officers determined that Baluchi was making a manifestly unsafe voyage”, indicates the complaint.
“Beginning on an unknown date and continuing through or about August 29, 2023, on the high seas, outside the jurisdiction of any particular state or district, in international waters, on board a vessel subject to the jurisdiction from United States, the defendant violated title 18 of the penal code of this country“, details.
This title refers to “obstructing a boarding”.
The authorities pointed out that Baluchi said he was armed with a knife and would attempt suicide if officers tried to remove him from the wheel he intended to ride.
According to information published today by FOX 10, for days, Coast Guard agents tried to get the adventurer onto a safe boat.
“At one point, the agents said that he showed two knives and threatened to use a bomb to blow himself up, along with the wheel,” the aforementioned media reported.
Local media indicated that Baluchi’s goal was to reach the UK.
On August 29, officers were able to safely remove Baluchi from the hamster wheel and drive him to a Coast Guard base in Miami Beach, but it was not the first such incident he had been involved in.
In 2014, he had to be rescued from what he calls “a bubble” near the city of San Agustín, on the east coast of Florida.
His second attempt was in 2016, where he had to be rescued from his capsule off the coast of Jupiter (130 km north of Miami).
Later, in the summer of 2021, Baluchi was found by Flagler County police officers, also in Florida, when his hamster wheel washed up on the north coast in St. Augustine.
At the time, according to the media, he claimed that he was raising money for charities and that he was heading to New York.
According to an interview with FOX 35, Baluchi’s efforts were intended to raise money for various charitable causes, including the “homeless,” the Coast Guard, and the Police and Fire departments.
“My goal is not only to raise money for the homeless, but also for the Coast Guard, the police department and the fire department. They are in public service, they do it for security and help other people,” Baluchi said.
“I will never give up on my dream. They stop me four or five times, but I never give up.”the adventurer reacted.
According to the Attorney for the Southeastern District of Florida, the arraignment of Baluchi is scheduled for September 15 before “the magistrate judge on duty” of a Miami court.
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