Two men from Lehigh Acres were among three people arrested Monday on multiple charges related to commercial trap robbing.
On Sept. 14, officers with the the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), and Key Colony Beach Police Department arrested Osmany Gonzalez Garcia, 33, of Lehigh Acres, Pedro Cabrera, 59, both of Lehigh Acres, and Sergio La Rosa Cabrera, 35, of Hialeah.
On Sept. 13, FWC aviation was on patrol with KCBPD on the oceanside of Cudjoe Key when they observed a commercial spiny lobster vessel pulling up traps and removing the contents.
Commercial blue crab, stone crab, and lobster vessels are required to display their assigned endorsement numbers and buoy colors so that both are visible from the air and the water.
The FWC pilot knew that the three subjects were robbing traps that did not belong to them since the colors of the buoys on the traps they were pulling did not match the colors of the buoys displayed on the vessel.
The following day, while obtaining a search warrant for the vessel, FWC and FWS officers conducted coordinated surveillance on the subjects near Johnston Key. They observed the three pulling up and removing the contents of other’s traps for almost an hour. The officers performed a vessel stop and escorted the subjects to shore where they continued their investigation.
“The behavior displayed by these men is simply unacceptable,” said Captain Adam Garrison, Monroe County Area Supervisor. “Our commercial fishermen are an integral part of the community and local economy. Trap robbing is an insult to legitimate fishermen and will not be tolerated.”
The subjects were subsequently charged with 28 felonies and 31 misdemeanors related to the molestation and robbing of commercial spiny lobster traps, the removal of contents from traps belonging to other fishermen, possession of steel traps in state waters as well as charges for improper waterline and aerial identification display. The subjects were transported to jail.
Wildlife and resource violations are very serious and the FWC encourages the public to report them by downloading the FWC Wildlife Alert app, calling the FWC’s Wildlife Alert Hotline at 888-404-FWCC (888-404-3922), or submitting a tip online at MyFWC.com/WildlifeAlert.
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