Six individuals were arrested on Friday at Brussels airport for trying to export 200 kilos of glass eels, an endangered species, the Hal-Vilvoorde prosecutor’s office said on Saturday evening.
Customs first found that 18 identical, packed suitcases had been checked in for a flight. She then scanned them to find that they all had the same content. One was therefore opened: inside were bags filled with water and glass eels and frozen water bottles. Glass eels are small eels whose species is threatened and subject to restrictions on its marketing. However, no export permit might be provided by the owners of the suitcases.
After checking the remaining luggage and the six Malaysian passengers, the customs concluded that the latter tried to smuggle the 200 kilos of eels into Malaysia via Qatar and Vietnam, where the value of this cargo is estimated at 400,000 euros on black market. The agents then contacted the prosecution, which ordered the arrest of the six smugglers. These were presented to an investigating judge on Saturday, who placed them in detention. They will appear before the council chamber on Thursday.
The maximum penalty for smuggling endangered species is five years in prison.
