Footballer then shipowner, and now in the sights of inspectors. Former Portuguese international Fabio Coentrao, who converted to the fishing sector after his sporting career, is involved in a case of illegal trade in shellfish, the Food Safety Authority (Asae) said on Thursday.
Health authorities announced the suspension of the activity of three illegal warehouses in northern Portugal and the seizure of 17 tonnes of food. One of them housed a shellfish farm owned by Fabio Coentrao. According to the daily Jornal de Noticias, inspectors went on Wednesday to the warehouse belonging to the former player of Real Madrid, AS Monaco and Benfica Lisbon, among others, in the fishing port of Povoa do Varzim ( north), where there were 12 seawater tanks filled in particular with lobsters and shrimp.
In total, more than a ton of shellfish was seized by the authorities due to several irregularities, for lack of invoices or a marketing license. Coming from a fishing community in the north of Portugal, Fabio Coentrao converted to this activity after retiring from sport in 2021 at the end of a career during which he totaled 52 caps with Portugal.
The 36-year-old former left-back, who has become the owner of three fishing boats, rented a warehouse seven months ago to launch into the marketing of seafood, reported the Jornal de Noticias. He is now the subject of an investigation.
