Two men accused of running an illegal live eel-smuggling operation out of Puerto Rico have been sentenced to prison following a NOAA Fisheries joint investigation.
“We work closely with our joint enforcement partners to detect and identify potential illegal activity related to the Lacey Act,” NOAA Office of Law Enforcement Southeast Division Acting Assistant Director Paige Casey said in a statement. “Through our partnerships, we are able to successfully prosecute and convict individuals, such as in this case, who illegally harvest and traffic marine wildlife that could disrupt our fair trade market.”
Court documents allege that Dominican nationals Simon De la Cruz Paredes and Saul Enrique José De la Cruz spent months harvesting juvenile American eels in Puerto Rico and then transporting the live eels via boat to the Dominican Republic, where they would then be sold and shipped to Asia.
Eels are a lucrative export, leading to frequent efforts to smuggle juvenile eels, raise them to adulthood, and sell them at a huge profit. Earlier this year, Canadian officials canceled the country’s elver fishery over rampant poaching and reports of violence.
“Eels are a highly sought-after food source, including for sushi,” Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division said in a statement. “Juvenile or glass eels are key to this food production. Unfortunately, they are often illegally harvested, which has already decimated their numbers in Japan and Europe and which is also having a profound effect on the American eel population. That is why we will vigorously prosecute individuals or entities caught illegally harvesting glass eels.”
The smuggling vessel operated by Paredes and De la Cruz was intercepted by the U.S. Coast Guard about 40 miles off the coast of Puerto Rico on 21 February.
When the two men refused to stop, the Coast Guard neutralized the boat’s engine and arrested the individuals. Officers confiscated 30 kilograms of eels and a handgun. Prosecutors estimated that the confiscated eels were worth USD 132,000 (EUR 125,000) at the time, but they would be worth more than USD 1 million (EUR 945,000) if they were successfully raised to adulthood.
“American juvenile eels can be traded legally, but they are also subject to poaching and international trafficking,” U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Office of Law Enforcement Assistant Director Edward Grace said in a statement. “These defendants would clearly stop at almost nothing in pursuit of their illegal activities, which harm natural resources and economies. The sentencing of these individuals highlights the effectiveness and persistence of investigators, who work tirelessly to seek justice.”
Both Paredes and De la Cruz pled guilty to smuggling the eels, and De la Cruz separately pled guilty to failing to stop when ordered to by the Coast Guard. In November, both men were sentenced to 24 months in prison followed by two years of supervised release.
