THE LOOKOUT | International eel trafficking network that operated in Ribatejo dismantled

Authorities were in Ribatejo and dismantled an organized network dedicated to trafficking baby eels

Fishermen were enticed by members of the network who paid in cash for any elver that was captured alive and delivered in the dead of night. Megaoperation by the Maritime Police in Vila Franca de Xira, Benavente, Salvaterra de Magos and Cascais ended with three detainees and seven defendants.

It took two years of careful investigation by the Central Criminal Investigation Unit (UCIC) of the Maritime Police for an organized network of illicit harvesting and trafficking of elver eels (baby eels), the so-called “white gold” of the Tagus, to be dismantled in the municipalities of Vila Franca de Xira, Benavente, Salvaterra de Magos and Cascais.
The Maritime Police operation, which took place on March 14, involved dozens of operatives and aimed to hunt down a network that had long been dedicated to trafficking this protected species which, for many, is a delicacy and for others it is an irresistible business. , reaching up to 6,500 euros per kilo.
The UCIC went to Ribatejo to execute 26 judicial search and seizure warrants at home and outside the home, detained three people of Chinese nationality and accused seven others of various nationalities, including fishermen from the three riverside municipalities. He also seized 77 kilos of live elvers which, if they entered the market, would be worth close to half a million euros. The police also recovered 18 kilos of frozen elvers and seized firearms, sharp weapons, four vehicles, four thousand euros in cash, fishing equipment, packaging material, travel bags, tanks and oxygenation material, various documents and digital evidence. and narcotic product, including cocaine and cannabis.
A source from the Maritime Police explained to O MIRANTE that the network’s way of operating was simple: a member of the network would appear in fishermen’s neighborhoods and entice them to illegally fish for elver eel, promising them to pay large sums of money to compensate for the risks. harvesting, made with nets that are left in the river for several hours. Fishermen received the money in envelopes as soon as the fish reached land in the dead of night or on rainy and foggy days. The investigations will not stop here and it is likely that new arrests will be made in the coming weeks, in what is the traditional growing season for elvers in the Tagus River.
It is recalled that the Maritime Police investigation had already caught in the act of committing a crime on February 21, 21 individuals of various nationalities collecting and trafficking elver, seizing 420 kilos of elver that were being transported by air and 293 kilos that were going to be transported by air. land to various destinations in Europe and Asia. The seizures as part of the investigation totaled more than 800 kg of elvers, explains the Maritime Police.