How an organized crime ring selling illicit tuna was caught
A coordinated European raid has netted millions of pounds of fish and dozens of arrests.
Atlantic bluefin tuna are one of the world’s largest, fastest, and arguably tastiest fish. Prized for sushi as well as tuna steaks, these metallic-hued predators can weigh in at more than a thousand pounds. And the illicit market for them can mean big money.
A multi-country organized crime ring dealing in more than 2,000 tons of tuna annually, or more than 10 times the weight of a blue whale, was recently uncovered by the European Union’s law enforcement agency. Europol’s explosive findings suggest that the volume of illicit bluefin tuna sold in Europe is likely double that of the legal tuna trade.
Following a months-long investigation across Spain, Portugal, France, Malta, and Italy, Spanish officials arrested 79 people and seized more than
