FORT PIERCE - Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials say they have dismantled a Cuban smuggling ring operating on Florida’s Atlantic coast.

ICE spokeswoman Nicole Navas said agents arrested seven people Oct. 15. Local police arrested another suspect on drug charges. Another remains at large, officials said.

The alleged Port St. Lucie-based group faces charges including conspiring to smuggle Cubans into the country between June and December of 2008. They could face decades behind bars if convicted.

Overall, Cuban migration has plummeted in the last year. Authorities attribute the drop to stepped up investigations and prosecutions, the lifting of some U.S. travel restrictions, a bad economy and a crackdown on the communist island.