Report maps out route to bust salmon hijacking 'industry'

Salmon theft in Chile must be addressed as organised crime, and special investigation units should be established to focus solely on busting the gangs who carry it out, an investigative commission of deputies (MPs) has recommended in a report.

Commission head Mauro González, a representative for Los Lagos region, said: “The theft of salmon causes a negative effect from the social, economic and labour point of view, that is why we created a commission to analyse this crime.

“The report has been approved unanimously, we achieved significant progress to improve the safety of workers, to improve the safety of land transport, but also to improve the traceability of the product for better control.

“We are also concerned about the health effects, because we do not know where the salmon that is being stolen today ends up. We hope that the report, conclusions and suggestions can be materialised and implemented in order to improve and combat this crime that causes so much damage in the south of the country.” 

Specific offence

Stephan Schubert, deputy for La Araucanía, said salmon theft was a multi-million-dollar industry.

“It has been growing and becoming linked to organised crime, and for this reason this report provides relevant information and relevant advice for the authorities, to adopt public policies, to seek coordinated work and above all to understand that this is no longer an isolated scourge, but rather a true multi-million-dollar industry that must be confronted as such.

“For this reason, it is suggested that regulations be issued creating a specific criminal offence for salmon theft, and we have presented a bill that creates this special crime of salmon theft, something similar to what happened with the theft of wood. It is hoped that this new, very severe regulation will allow for better prosecution and exemplary sentences.”

As well as proposing the creation of investigative units with an exclusive focus on salmon theft, the report recommended reinforcing the specialised units of the Public Prosecutor’s Office from the Biobío region to Los Lagos, with greater financial and human resources.

Armed hijackings

Armed hijackings of salmon trucks happen relatively frequently in southern Chile.

On Wednesday, June 26, Carabineros managed to arrest four individuals who had committed a robbery with intimidation and a kidnapping near the Lanco toll booth on Route 5 Sur.

According to Carabineros de Los Ríos, a driver from the company Merlogisti who was transporting 22 tonnes of salmon from Puerto Montt to Talcahuano, alerted Carabineros that he lost visual contact and communications with his colleague who was ahead of him.

Police officers then proceed to inspect the truck described, at which point four criminals who were holding the driver fled in different directions, managing to arrest two of them in the first instance. Later, a team from the Lanco Sub-Police Station managed to capture the other two members of the gang after conducting a follow-up.