US Coast Guard law enforcement crews detected and interdicted two Mexican lancha boats, with a total of eight Mexican fishermen onboard, engaged in illegal fishing in federal waters off southern Texas, on Monday.
Both lancha boats, with fishing gear onboard, were seized. The Mexican fishermen were detained and transferred to border enforcement agents for processing.
A lancha is a fishing boat used by Mexican fishermen 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.
Lanchas are frequently used to transport illegal narcotics to the US and fish illegally in the United States’ Exclusive Economic Zone near the U.S.-Mexico border in the Gulf of Mexico.
US Coast Guard Sector/Air Station Corpus Christi has detected 177 lanchas, 52 of which were interdicted, north of the US-Mexico Maritime Border since 1 October 2017.
