Dutch customs intercept major eel smuggling attempt

I used to find a canapé with eel very festive and loved eating it; now, because of its scarcity, it’s something you can hardly admit to anymore. Eel is on an international red list because the species is seriously endangered, making the fish a target for smugglers who can make a great deal of money from it. The following report gives you a clear picture of that…

Because a catch was recently made at Schiphol (erm, literally) that once again made it clear that eel is highly sought after, and that people will do the craziest things to get their hands on it.

Almost slipped through

But the slippery little fish managed to escape these hands, although they did receive some help from Dutch customs: three Malaysian smugglers were arrested with no fewer than 105 kilos of baby eels in their suitcases. That was around 300,000 of them! How they intended to smuggle them past customs unnoticed is quite a mystery, but apparently they thought they had a chance. In any case, the three were arrested last Monday, reports the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA).

Interesting approach

What stood out was that the smugglers had eight large, identical suitcases with them. Airport security noticed this and called in customs. In the suitcases, they found countless plastic bags filled with water containing live baby eels. How, exactly?? I can’t even get 101 milliliters of day cream onto a plane, or bring back a jar of lemon curd from England – how do you come up with the idea that this would be a good plan?

Hand over the fish

But then again, I’ll never be asked to head logistics for an international smuggling operation (and these three probably won’t be either). The illegal eel trade is said to be extremely lucrative; according to the newspaper Het Parool, glass eels are worth more in Asia than silver or caviar. The newspaper also writes that millions of glass eels were released into Lake Grevelingen last month in an attempt to restore the depleted eel population, which has suffered greatly from illegal smuggling. The fish intercepted at Schiphol will also be released into Dutch waters.

By the way, did you know that eel and “aal” are the same thing, but that in some parts of the country one word is used and in other parts the other? Just like fries and chips, and let’s not start an argument about that here, shall we?.

Read also:

• If you refuse to throw away your food items at customs…
• Sunflower oil still listed on product labels (even though it’s no longer in them)
• Sustainable fish: tuna is a no, mussels are okay

Source: Het Parool