17 kilos of pure cocaine were concealed inside plastic pouches containing 16,000 tropical fish of which only 34 survived
Among the surviving fish were four giant arowanas from the Amazon now on display in a British zoo’s aquarium.
FOUR GIANT SOUTH AMERICAN TROPICAL FISH SURVIVED BEING USED TO SMUGGLE LIQUID COCAINE ON FLIGHT FROM COLOMBIA TO LONDON
Smugglers caught as investigators intercepted 25 boxes containing 16,000 fish and liquid cocaine
By Anna Edwards
Mail Online
November 28, 2013
Smugglers used bags of giant tropical fish to conceal a huge haul of liquid cocaine worth £4.5milllion they were sneaking into the country,
Investigators intercepted 25 boxes containing 16,000 fish that arrived on an American Airlines flight from Colombia to Heathrow Airport in July 2011.
Olaf Urlik, 33, and Norbert Jarzabek, 32, both of Poland attempted to smuggle 17 kilos of pure cocaine, worth millions, into the UK using bags containing live tropical fish. Both were jailed for 11 years for drug smuggling.
The cocaine was dissolved in fluid inside plastic pouches and stitched into an inner bag holding the live fish, including sting rays and catfish.
The consignment was tracked by investigators as the men collected it from the airport.
The court heard that the consignment was tracked by investigators to a house at Wollaton, which had been rented by Jarzabek two months earlier.
The men collected the cargo from the airport and brought it back to Nottingham to be unpacked, unaware it had been bugged.
Prosecutor Robert Davies said: 'There were various jokes about the state of health of the fish, some flapping about on the floor, and some were put in the bath.'
The pair were arrested surrounded by dead fish.
Staff from London Zoo's Aquarium rushed to Nottingham and saved 41 fish.
The court had heard there had been a dummy run in the previous April, when 16,000 tropical fish had been imported and stored in a lock-up garage in Islington.
Confident of success, they plotted the shipment which would contain the cocaine, unaware investigators were on to them.
The investigation was carried out by the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA), the UK Border Agency and Nottinghamshire Police.
Urlik and Jarzabek were each jailed for 11 years at Nottingham Crown Court last year.
Now the four freshwater arowanas, who are four of just 34 fish that survived the trip from Colombia to Heathrow Airport, have found a new home.
The arowanas, who usually inhabit the Amazon, were initially looked after by staff at London Zoo before several were transferred to Bristol Zoo.
Earlier this week the South American fish, along with eight pacus and a large catfish, were transported from the zoo to a new home at Blue Planet Aquarium in Cheshire.
Blue Planet Aquarium curator David Wolfenden said: 'The arowanas are part of a truly amazing story and we were only too pleased to offer them a permanent new home.
'Clearly the smugglers did not care at all about the fishes' welfare and the fact that nearly all of them perished during the smuggling operation is extremely sad.
'It's something of a miracle that any managed to survive the ordeal and we're glad they can now live out their time here with us in a large, purpose-built display.
'The fish were transported with the help of aquarists from our sister Bristol Aquarium and they did a great job in catching and transporting them safely,' he added.
The fish will join other re-homed species in the aquarium's giant new 'Flooded Forest' display.
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