Eel smuggling arrests rise 50% in Europe-wide crackdown

Europol says about 15m of the creatures were seized last year in trade worth a3bn annually

The number of arrests for the smuggling of eels in Europe has increased by 50% after a concerted effort by enforcement agencies to tackle the problem.

Eels are in demand in China and other east Asian countries and about 350m are trafficked out of the European Union each year, in a trade worth about a3bn (2.7bn) annually. It is the world's biggest wildlife crime in terms of the number of creatures trafficked. About 15m eels were seized last year and 153 arrests were made, compared with 98 arrests the year before.