At Heidesheim, near Mainz, around 5000 confiscated elvers in the river Rhine to the wild. “Who obviously had fun in their own Element to come back,” said Hans-Jürgen Schmidt, spokesman for the Zollfahndungsamts in Frankfurt am Main.
the smuggler had previously tried to bring the young animals on the airport of Frankfurt to Vietnam. Security staff discovered at the end of November in the case of a control in the case of a 47-year-old Malaysierin. They camped in a water-filled plastic bags that were embedded in Styrofoam boxes. The animals were seized and up to the time of their release into the wild, in an aquarium retailer housed.
glass eels are Babyaale, which are still transparent. They are protected and may not be abroad. Where the woman had the animals is unclear. The customs suspected that they originate from France, Spain and Portugal – and there, at the river mouths were caught.
The animals could be sold in Asia with a lot of profit, because they are regarded as a delicacy and a potency-enhancing effect will said Schmidt. In Germany, a kilogram of the animals cost about 400 euros, at a fish market in Asia amounts to between 3000 and 5000 Euro could be achieved.
glass eels swimming in front of the Naturalizing in plastic bag
For the commercial export of the animals, the suitcase owner would have needed a permit. With a Betist penalty, you do not need to anticipate, nevertheless, for the time being. “At the time of the inspection measures and findings, she was on a plane to Vietnam, and had already withdrawn,” said Schmidt.
The Eel stocks in the river Rhine have decreased in the past years, from time to time were therefore exposed to young animals. Both in Hesse and in Rhineland-Palatinate, the eel is on the Red list of endangered species and therefore is under special protection. “The suspension of contraband glass eels apply, in their natural Element is so far unparalleled in Germany,” said the customs.
eels are freshwater fish that migrate to Spawn in the Sargasso sea, a part of the Atlantic. The hatchlings return to the Gulf stream to European coasts. Compared with the period before 1980, only about one to two percent of the glass eels arrive today, however there.
The number of elvers has decreased in the past decades dramatically. Stefan Hill, President of the Rhineland-Palatinate environmental authority said the confiscated fish could afford of the Rhine, “a contribution to the further Growth of the Population”.
Video: The sleuths of the German customs Viagra, Heroin & rare animals
Video SPIEGEL TV
wit/dpa/AFP
