Three men arrested over carp thefts from Earlswood – as fish poaching continues to rise

OF the vast range of criminal activities the police have to deal with, perhaps fish poaching is one of the lesser known. But it’s on the increase in the Stratford district and indeed elsewhere in the country.

In fact, it is taken so seriously that the authorities have organised special exercises in the coming weeks – known as “Operation Clampdown” – to catch people who’re stealing fish from rivers and commercial fisheries.

For obvious reasons the dates and locations of this crackdown on “fish thieves” are not being made public. Officials don’t want to give the culprits advance notice of when and where they’ll be conducting the patrols to catch them in the act.