The 28 kilos of elvers seized in March during 'Operation Putzua' have recently been returned to the river. Investigators from the Nature Protection Service (Seprona) of the Guardia Civil were responsible for carrying out this action, with the collaboration and advice of members of Basozainak of Gipuzkoa. The live elver specimens, confiscated on March 10, had been «transferred to a hatchery of the Gipuzkoa Provincial Council» and a month later have been released into their natural habitat.
The seizure of the 28 kilos of live elvers occurred within the framework of 'Operation Putzua', in which the Guardia Civil dismantled a criminal organization dedicated to the illegal trafficking of European eel, a protected and endangered species with a high market value. As a result of this international operation, 10 people were arrested in Gipuzkoa and France, and more than 400 kilos of elvers were seized.
Of the ten detainees, four were arrested in Gipuzkoa territory. Two of them were apprehended by the Guardia Civil itself in the operation carried out a month ago in a pavilion in Aginaga, and another two were arrested two weeks later. Since last Tuesday, March 10, when a pavilion, a home, and a company in the Usurbil Aginaga neighborhood were searched, 28 kilograms of live elvers and 407 kilos of frozen elvers have been seized. This merchandise «lacked sanitary control and traceability, so it was not suitable for human consumption», according to the Guardia Civil. The operation also seized 65,000 euros in cash of unjustified origin.
“"This merchandise lacked sanitary control and traceability, so it was not suitable for human consumption."
The investigation into 'Operation Putzua' began in early 2025, when a network of poachers, based between southern France and the Basque Country, was detected systematically failing to declare their catches. In this way, they broke the traceability of the merchandise and managed to sell it to a Spanish company for illegal distribution in the national territory.
The European eel (Anguilla anguilla), whose juvenile specimens are known as elvers, is a species in a critical situation, according to the catalog of the International Union for Conservation of Nature. It is also included in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), an international agreement that regulates the trade of wild animals and plants to ensure their preservation.
