Human smugglers and members of organized crime rings are stealing boats from Florida and taking them to Mexico

Marco Island police officers took to the water and took notes while systematically combing the island’s maze of canals.
By that time, a number of “go-fast” boats already had disappeared from Naples docks and boat lifts, a trend that would continue through the rest of the year and into 2008.
Marco Island police wanted to take preventative measures before the trend made its way to Marco.
“Our men went out and started surveying and identifying all the different vessels that met the general parameters,” Marco police Lt. Dave Baer said.
The result was a three-page list and a map indicating the size and location of dozens of high-end boats on the island -- most with a price tag close to that of a medium-sized home.
Baer said the list and map are used to help the agency plan its patrols, and to keep in contact with the owners of boats that are potential targets of human smugglers.
Like Marco Island police, officers with other Southwest Florida agencies have been stepping up efforts to combat boat thefts in their jurisdictions.
Though none of the agencies would discuss details of their efforts, officials said they all are using every tool at their disposal to apprehend the thieves and protect the boats in their waters.
But not everything law enforcement is doing is apparent to the average resident.
“We are adjusting, I know it sounds canned ... we are adjusting our resources,” said Lt. Dave Johnson of the Collier County Sheriff’s Office’s Special Operations Group. “That doesn’t just mean marine patrols. That means other dimensions as well. We’re adjusting our resources to try to be at the right places at the right time.”
After years of decline, boat thefts in Florida began to spike in 2006 and 2007, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission reported.
In fact, boat thefts dropped every year from 2002, when 914 vessels were stolen, to 2005, when 735 disappeared. But in 2006 the number jumped to 1,259, and jumped again in 2007, to 1,684, the commission reported.
In addition, the theft of boat parts and boat engines also increased during that period.
Authorities believe many, if not most, of the boats are being stolen for human smuggling.
Johnson said many human smugglers and members of organized crime rings are stealing boats from Florida and taking them to Mexico, where they base their operations with less scrutiny from law enforcement. In fact, Johnson said many smugglers are bringing Cubans into Mexico so they can cross into the United States at the southwest border.
Wet-foot, dry-foot, a policy that allows Cubans who make it to the United States to stay in the country, doesn’t just apply in Florida, Johnson said.
“Now they’re calling them dusty foots,” Johnson said.
Like Marco Island police, the Sheriff’s Office and the Naples police department also have begun taking inventory of the “go-fast” boats in their jurisdiction.
“We can direct our patrol officers and marine patrol officers to pay more attention in the areas where these boats are kept,” Naples police Lt. Rob Bock said.
When officers make contact with one of the boat owners, they talk to them about preventative measures they can take to make their vessel less appealing to thieves. Crime prevention officers will examine the boat’s security, the dock, the lift and the environment, Baer said.
“I could go to a house and say 10 things and not repeat it at a second house because the parameters have changed,” Baer said. “Every single one is different.”
Since taking the first inventory on Marco Island, two boats were stolen – one in late December and one in late January. One of the boats was recovered north of Cuba.
There have been 18 boats stolen in Southwest Florida since early December, said Petty Officer Ben Townley of the U.S. Coast Guard Station in Fort Myers Beach.
Because of the seasonal nature of many Marco residents, neither of the boats stolen from Marco Island was on the agency’s first list. With the help of the U.S. Coast Guard and the Sheriff’s Office, Marco Island police recently took another inventory.
Once go-fast boats are stolen, they are difficult to recover.

That is why authorities are preaching prevention, such as: moving the boat lift’s electrical power shut-off switch inside the house, securing the boat to the lift, installing an alarm system on the dock, installing a GPS enabled alarm system, installing a fuel cut-off switch, and installing exterior lighting that shines on the boat and dock.