2 Dominican Men Sentenced for Trying to Smuggle Eels From Puerto Rico
Two Dominican nationals were sentenced to two years in prison and then two years of supervised release for smuggling juvenile American eels from Puerto Rico, DOJ announced. Saul Enrique Jose De la Cruz was sentenced on Nov. 21, and Simon De la Cruz Paredes was sentenced earlier this month.
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Paredes and De la Cruz harvested the eels, known as glass eels, in the area around Levittown, Puerto Rico, DOJ said. The men kept them alive by using an oxygenation system while a boat was built to transport the men and the eels back to the Dominican Republic. In February, Paredes and De la Cruz traveled to the Dominican Republic with 30 kilograms of the eels, a handgun and 850 rounds of ammunition, DOJ said.
The men said they intended to sell the eels in the Dominican Republic, where they would then be shipped to Asia. The U.S. Coast Guard intercepted the defendants around 40 miles off the coast of Puerto Rico. The pair pleaded guilty to smuggling the eels in violation of 18 U.S.C. Section 554 and the Lacey Act.
DOJ said the eels were worth at least $132,000 and would be worth over $1 million once "raised to adulthood."