They stole lobsters from a Keys commercial trap line, police say. The chase was on
Two Miami-Dade men and one Broward man are in Monroe County jail on felony lobster trap robbing charges after Florida fish and wildlife police said they caught them in the act of poaching from commercial traps in the Keys.
When Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers tried to pull over their vessel nearshore of the small city of Layton on Tuesday, the men briefly sped up to avoid capture, adding to their criminal charges, the agency said.
Enrique Airado, 67, and Luis Airado, 61, both of Cutler Bay, and Carlos Castillo, 63, of Hollywood, were booked into Monroe County jail on one felony count each of trap molesting, one felony count each of fleeing and eluding police, one felony count each of tampering with evidence, and one misdemeanor count each of interfering with a police officer.
Their bond had not been set as of Wednesday afternoon, according to online jail records.
A Florida Fish and Wildlife airplane crew spotted the men diving from their boat on a spiny lobster trap line, said Capt. David Dipre, area captain for the agency’s Keys operations.
“The aircraft is our eyes on the water. It can be in places our officers cannot go in boats without being observed and provides an advantage our officers in boats do not have,” Dipre said in a statement.
The FWC has increased air presence in the Keys as part of the DeSantis administration’s executive order to deploy state resources to the island chain to help patrol for incoming migrants from Cuba and Haiti.
Officers watched as one man handed lobsters to the other men on the boat, FWC spokeswoman Arielle Callender said.
“The diver returned to the boat after clearing all the traps, and the three men started back toward their boat dock,” Callender said.
Two officers at the marina ordered the men to stop their boat as they approached the dock.
“The operator increased the speed of the vessel and attempted to elude the officers,” Callender said.
Before docking their boat, the men dumped many of the stolen lobsters overboard, she said.
Other officers were waiting at the dock, where they were arrested, Callender said.
