'Cold-blooded' lorry driver smuggled hundreds of rare eels into North Wales in 'most unusual case'
A lorry driver smuggled 666 critically-endangered eels into Holyhead. A judge called it one of the most unusual cases he has ever dealt with.
Kevin Peter Forbes, 33, had travelled from Dublin to the Port of Holyhead when Border Force staff discovered his illicit haul of European eels, worth almost £16,000, in boxes. He admitted causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal and was given a 12-month jail term, suspended for 18 months.
He also pleaded guilty to a fraud charge and was fined £1,500. You can sign up for all the latest court stories here
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Prosecutor Laura Knightly told Mold Crown Court the defendant arrived at Holyhead on January 3 last year and shortly after midnight his lorry reached the freight store. Border Force staff asked for his identification and paperwork and he said he was taking "eggs to Bristol".
But officers saw a pallet with boxes, beneath the lorry's trailer, and Forbes told them they contained eels. The court heard Forbes said he had collected them from a driver who had had a breakdown in Dublin and was taking them to London.
However there was no paperwork and it was an offence under the Customs and Excise Management Act, the court heard. There were 666 eels in 37 bags in the cardboard boxes. X-rays revealed some were still alive but "most appeared to be dead or dying," said Ms Knightly.
They were worth £25 per kilo meaning the cargo was worth £15,725. Police were called and Forbes was taken to Holyhead Police Station.
The National Wildlife Crime Unit and the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS) were both contacted. Experts arrived and the dying eels were euthanised, the court heard.
The court heart Forbes said he was offered £400 to take the eels to London for a mate. He said he had not known they were a protected species.
An earlier hearing was told that a veterinary surgeon found the eels would not have had sufficient oxygen or sanitation in the plastic bags. The eels showed signs of trauma from "abrasions" and psychological stress.
They were being kept in "grossly inappropriate conditions", she concluded. "They would have experienced suffering for the entirety of their confinement," which would have been at least three hours and 25 minutes, she added.
The vet noted that eels will survive longer and die more slowly without oxygen than other fish. Eels are critically-endangered and can no longer be exported legally.
However the illegal trade in eels in Europe and Asia is worth some 200 million to 300 million euros a year, the court heard. Philip Tully, defending, said Forbes had co-operated with the Border Force Agency.
There was no evidence he was involved in packaging the eels and he played an important but limited role in the offence. He is a father of two and had also been in the UK on legitimate business.
His Honour Niclas Parry said it was an unusual case. He said: "In 25 years sitting here this is one of the most unusual cases and fraud to come before me. But the fact remains you made a cold-blooded decision to make what you considered to be easy money having no thought to the unnecessary and undoubted suffering that was being caused to these protected animals."
They are at serious risk of extinction and their unlawful trade has to stop, he added. Forbes, of Rossa Court, Dungannon, Northern Ireland, is a hard worker and there was no suggested he knew they were protected.
The judge gave him the suspended sentence and ordered him to do 150 hours of unpaid work. He must also pay £150 costs.
In a statement about this case, North Wales Police said in October: "The European eel (Anguilla anguilla) is listed as a critically endangered species on the IUCN (International Union of Conservation of Nature) red list, as it is at extremely high risk of extinction.
"Eels play a key role in freshwater ecosystems as a high-order predator, helping regulate other species populations and maintaining freshwater biodiversity. They are also a critical food source for many birds, mammals and large fish."