Chilean Navy targets salmon theft network in Chiloé.
The Chilean Navy has carried out a coordinated operation against an alleged criminal organisation involved in the theft of salmon from aquaculture sites in the Chiloé area, arresting 17 people and seizing vehicles, equipment, and fish.
The action, code-named “Marejada,” was conducted by the Navy’s Maritime Police in cooperation with the Los Lagos Regional Prosecutor’s Office. Authorities said the intervention followed two months of investigation into thefts from salmon farming centres.
The operation resulted in the confiscation of two vehicles, a crane truck, a small vessel, and an as-yet undetermined quantity of salmonids, according to the Chilean Navy.
Personnel from the Southern Maritime Police Investigations Section (DIPOLMAR), the Maritime Governor’s Office of Castro, and the port captaincies of Castro, Quellón, and Chonchi took part in the early-morning action.
The Navy said the operation was part of ongoing maritime policing efforts to protect coastal communities and the aquaculture industry.
