Mafiosi have shrimp farmers firmly in their claws
– From robberies on land to hold-ups at sea by rifle-toting, hooded men, Ecuador’s shrimp industry is facing a wave of violent crime that is threatening the country’s star export.
The South American country is the world’s largest shrimp exporter, putting one in every five of the crustaceans on tables around the world, and this “pink gold” raked in a record $7.3 billion (about R141 billion) last year, according to official figures.
However, shrimp farmers are being forced to shell out millions in private security, which could impact the industry’s competitiveness compared to countries like India or Vietnam where production is cheaper.
“We continue to be victims, daily, of criminals who are better armed than the police,” said Jose Antonio Camposano, president of the National Chamber of Aquaculture (CNA), which unites 4 000 shrimp producers and exporters.
In the first eight months of the year, the CNA registered 64 crimes against its members, including violent robberies at sea or along roads, some leaving deaths.
In one attack, armed men shot at six shrimp workers at close range as they left southern Puerby to Roma, stealing their cargo and racing off in speedboats.
The workers arrived bloodied at a dock in the port city of Guayaquil, which has become a hotbed of organised crime linked to international drug trafficking.
Shrimp producers, speaking off the record, told AFP that criminals were robbing their wares to finance other illicit business.
In another attack, a driver for a shrimp farm was seriously injured after being hijacked by armed men along a highway.
According to the CNA, robberies also take place at production pools where shrimp are farmed.
The criminals sell the shrimp at local markers or to traders who attempt to introduce them into the export chain.
“When we take our merchandise to land, we work defensively and locate the risk points where we could be attacked,” said a 51-year-old local from Puna. –