Earlier this week, customs seized a large shipment of glass eel at Schiphol. Three Malaysians had about 300,000 baby eels with a total weight of 105 kilos in their suitcases. The Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA) reports that the three passengers were arrested on Monday.
Door NU.nl/ANPThey were on their way from Portugal to Malaysia and were carrying eight large identical suitcases. This caught the attention of airport security, who called in customs.
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The suitcases turned out to be full of plastic bags filled with water and small eels. The NVWA subsequently seized the 105 kilos of glass eels.
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The eel is a protected species and its export is subject to strict rules. Last month millions of glass eels were released in the Grevelingenmeer to restore the eel stock. The animals that have now been found are also released into Dutch waters.
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In 2017, customs at Schiphol intercepted 72 kilos of baby eel. Two Chinese were arrested for this and received six months in prison. The six suitcases with eel were worth about 115,000 euros in China at the time, according to the NVWA.
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