A TYRONE man has been charged after a large quantity of endangered European eels were seized at Holyhead Port.
A vehicle was stopped at the port by Border Force in January of this year, where a number of boxes containing the critically endangered fish were discovered.
Following a joint investigation by the North Wales Police Rural Crime Team, National Wildlife Crime Unit and Centre for Environment Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS), Kevin Forbes, of Rossa Court in Dungannon, was charged with offences under the Customs and Excise Act, Control of Trade in Endangered Species Regulations 2018 and the Animal Welfare Act.
He is due to appear before Caernarfon Crown Court on Thursday, November 28.
The European eel is listed as a critically endangered species on the International Union of Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list, as it is at extremely high risk of extinction.
Eels play a key role in freshwater ecosystems as a high-order predator, helping regulate other species populations and maintaining freshwater biodiversity.
They are also a critical food source for many birds, mammals and large fish.