an illegal fishing network dismantled after months of investigation

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Since last February, maritime gendarmes in the Mediterranean have been monitoring a large-scale operation. This surveillance focused on trafficking organized around clam fishing in the Étang de Berre. Every two days, a different team, made up of fishermen identified by investigators, more than twenty people in total, brought up around 100 kilograms of clams per trip.

The shellfish thus collected were then resold via a company to restaurateurs or individuals. in Héraultwithout ever mentioning their true origin and, above all, without having the necessary health authorizations. This illegal activity continued for nearly ten months, during which no less than 24 tons of clams were sold illegally.

A trafficking network organized around shellfish

This Tuesday, November 19, 2024the gendarmerie forces of the Bouches-du-Rhône and Hérault departments carried out a large-scale operation, arresting or summoning 25 individuals suspected of belonging to this organized network. The charges include organized gang trafficking as well as money laundering. This investigation, carried out with the collaboration of nearly fifty soldiers from the Toulon and Marseille companies, also mobilized institutions such as Urssaf, the tax research services, and the veterinary services of the departmental police.

At the end of the interrogations, 18 of the suspects will finally be brought before the Aix-en-Provence criminal court, including the eight individuals identified as the main organizers of this illicit operation. Investigators estimate that this illegal fishing traffic caused financial damage of nearly 108,800 euros. During the interventions, the gendarmerie also seized two vehicles and a sum of 159,000 euros in cash.

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