SLIPPERY CUSTOMERS

Simon Hunter simon@theolivepress.es

Alex Trelinski alex@theolivepress.es

Cristina Hodgson cristina@theolivepress.es

Walter Finch walter@theolivepress.es

OFFICE MANAGER Héctor Santaella (+34) 658 750 424 accounts@ theolivepress.es

DISTRIBUTION ENQUIRIES (+34) 951 273 575 distribution@ theolivepress.es

NEWSDESK: 0034 951 273 575

For all sales and advertising enquiries please contact 951 27 35 75

HEAD OFFICE

Carretera Nacional 340, km 144.5, Calle Espinosa 1, Edificio cc El Duque, planta primera, 29692, Sabinillas, Manilva

Deposito Legal MA: 835-2017

So for the time being, Brits are still allowed to enter any European Schengen area country with just their passport for up to three months within any six month period.

In November however, travellers will have to apply for special permission to enter the EU before boarding the plane or boat. For a fee of €7, travellers will undergo a form of security check that will monitor irregular migration or high epidemic risks posed by visa-exempt visitors to Schengen states.

The background check will be automated against EU information systems for borders and security and, it’s claimed, authorisation will be issued within minutes for most. As such, holidaymakers who forget to apply for an ETIAS - or aren’t even aware of it - will technically be able to apply while waiting to board the aeroplane.

However, if additional checks are required, this could take up to 96 hours, making it sensible to apply well in advance.

It’s important to stress that expat residents of Spain will not be required to hold an ETIAS, although it will be advisable to have residency documents to hand when boarding.

Once an ETIAS is acquired, it will be valid for three years, saving travellers the hassle of having to apply each and every time they travel.

A total of 60 countries will be subject to the new ETIAS regime, including the UK, USA, New Zealand and Australia.

Largest ever haul of baby eels, worth quarter of a million euros, puts fish smuggling under the microscope

By Dilip Kuner

THE recent arrest of two men trying to smuggle 190 kilos of baby eels (known as elvers or anguilla) through the port of Algeciras has once more thrown the spotlight of this unusual but highly lucrative illegal trade. Border agents were shocked to find coolboxes filled with the live baby glass eels - 192 kilos of them, worth an astounding €250,000 - in a car coming from Tangier.

It was the largest haul of the critically endangered species since their import was banned into the EU in 2010.

But their high value for the Asian market has encouraged a rise in criminal gangs flying them to the Far East. Many end up in China to be fattened and then sold on to other countries including Japan where they are a highly prized delicacy.

Spain - itself a major breeding ground for the glass eel - has become a hub for the illegal trade, with elvers ‘harvested’ from across Europe and Africa sent here for onward shipment to Asia.

The eels are carried by ‘mules’ on scheduled flights in specially adapted checked-in suitcases. It may sound like a crazy amateurish scheme, but the trade is worth millions.

The Olive Press has previ- ously reported on the vast profits, with one man convicted of smuggling an estimated €62 million worth of baby eels from Spain to East Asia via the UK. Gilbert Khoo (pictured bragging about his wealth by showing two gold bars), 67, from Surrey, was found guilty of six offences relating to the illegal importation.

UK Border Force officers found the European glass eels, concealed under a load of chilled fish at Heathrow Airport.

The live consignment, weighing around 200 kilos, had been transported from Spain to the UK in 2017 en route to Hong Kong. The creatures have since been returned to the wild.