Police recover 1.5 tonnes of contraband eels after international investigation

Police have seized 1.5 tonnes of contraband eels in an almost two-year long international investigation into fraudulent exports.

Twenty-seven people were arrested after authorities discovered that four tonnes of eels had been fraudulently exported between 2021 and 2023 for a profit estimated at more than €1m.

Suspects in Spain, France, Belgium, and Portugal were arrested after a cooperative investigation by authorities from France, Spain, Europol, Eurojust and the European Anti-Fraud Office.

The European eel is classified as “critically endangered” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, meaning that its fishing is regulated and subject to strict quotas.

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