Coast Guard law enforcement crews detected and interdicted a Mexican lancha boat crew engaged in illegal fishing in federal waters off South Texas, on Thursday.
According to USCG, crews stopped one lancha with a total of four Mexican fishermen engaged in illegal fishing.
The Coast Guard says, the lancha, with fishing gear onboard, was seized. The fishermen were detained and transferred to border enforcement agents for processing.
A lancha is a fishing boat that is approximately 20-30 feet long with a slender profile, typically has one outboard motor, and is capable of traveling at speeds exceeding 30 mph.
USCG says lanchas are frequently used to transport illegal narcotics to the U.S. and fish illegally in the United States’ Exclusive Economic Zone near the U.S.-Mexico border in the Gulf of Mexico.
Coast Guard Sector/Air Station Corpus Christi says they have detected 155 lanchas, 44 of which were interdicted, that were north of the U.S.-Mexico Maritime Border since Oct. 1, 2017.
