5 piranha traders caught

MANILA, Philippines - A businessman and four of his companions were arrested for allegedly trading in piranha fingerlings in a sting operation in Caloocan City Thursday night.

City police chief Senior Superintendent Jude Wilson Santos said operatives of the Bureau of Fisheries Aquatic Resources (BFAR) and the Caloocan City Police Station Investigation and Detective Management Branch (SIDMB) collaborated in the arrest of the suspects and seized 60 fingerlings from them.

Santos said a BFAR operative posed as a buyer of the fingerlings to set up the sting. Law enforcers raided a house on Caimito street in Barangay 79 at around 11 p.m.

Alleged leader Gary Reynold Alcantara, 28, pointed to a certain “Pol,” who resides on the same street, as their supplier. He said they buy piranha fingerlings at P450 each and sell them to interested buyers for P600.

Alcantara was arrested along with James Jomel Gabriel, 33; Karl Frederick Felizardo, 25; Rodrigo Luciano, 27; and Joan Tobias, 28. They were charged with violating the Philippine Fisheries Code of 1998 (Republic Act 8550) in relation to a BFAR administrative order penalizing the illegal importation and trade of prohibited fish, particularly the piranha, and are detained at the city police jail.

Santos said BFAR officials informed him about the suspects reportedly trading in piranha sourced from local suppliers conspiring with suppliers from South America.

According to the BFAR, a person caught with a live piranha – a flesh-eating fish that attacks in large numbers prey larger than them – can be jailed from six months to four years and fined P500 to P5,000.