Over 30 tonnes of contaminated seafood has been seized by European authorities, potentially saving millions of people from getting food poisoning over Christmas.
Footage released by Spain’s Guardia Civil shows police officers seizing molluscs and six tonnes of glass eels worth up to 10 million euros (£8.2 million) on the seafood market, which were illegally harvested by organised criminal groups in Portugal and Spain.
The delicacies can fetch up to £25 per kilo, but poaching gangs exploited Asian workers by paying them just pennies per kilo for molluscs fished in contaminated waters in Portugal.
A total of 62 members of the group were arrested by Europol, with authorities identifying six of the suspects as ‘High-Value Targets’.
The gangs mainly harvested Japanese clams, which are a popular Christmas dish in Spain and Portugal, and falsified the documentation to present them as fit for consumption.
If undetected, this could have sparked a serious public health alarm consuming contaminated molluscs can put people at risk of developing serious illnesses, including hepatitis.
The case is also notable for being the first proven crime in the European Union to combine environmental offences and human trafficking, Europol said.
In a statement, the agency said the gangs would ‘fish illegally in Portugal, sending the molluscs to Spain and on to the criminal networks.
‘The contrast between the price of the molluscs on the market and the fishers’ earnings led authorities to confirm the link between environmental crime and trafficking in human beings for labour exploitation for the first time ever in the EU.’
Europol experts from the Environmental Crime Unit identified the criminal trend and lent their expertise to the Member States involved.
Authorities then facilitated operational meetings, coordinated the action days, and provided financial support to national authorities.
During the action days, Europol experts were deployed on the ground in Portugal, Spain, and France.
Their operational analysis uncovered new “High-Value Targets”, prompting further investigations.
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