Contaminated seafood worth £8,000,000 seized from criminal gangs
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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.
![[Law enforcement authorities from France, Portugal and Spain, supported by Europol, have arrested 62 members of multiple organised criminal groups involved in the illegal fishing of contaminated molluscs in Portugal and Spain. The 17 action days also resulted in the seizure of 30 tonnes of molluscs and 6 tonnes of glass eels worth up to EUR 10 million on the seafood market. Six of the suspects are considered High Value Targets by authorities.]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/SEI_233772399-bd9b.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
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’.
![[Law enforcement authorities from France, Portugal and Spain, supported by Europol, have arrested 62 members of multiple organised criminal groups involved in the illegal fishing of contaminated molluscs in Portugal and Spain. The 17 action days also resulted in the seizure of 30 tonnes of molluscs and 6 tonnes of glass eels worth up to EUR 10 million on the seafood market. Six of the suspects are considered High Value Targets by authorities.]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/SEI_233772403-e0a2.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
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.
