The film "Billion Dollar Babies — The Big Business of Eel Trafficking" tells the story of a multi-billion-dollar illegal trade, centered on one of nature’s most enigmatic creatures.

Born in the Sargasso Sea near the Bermuda Triangle, the eel begins its journey of up to 5,000 kilometers to Europe — as a translucent ‘willow-leaf’ larva known as a glass eel. To this day, it remains unclear exactly how the European eel reproduces. Commercial breeding isn’t possible: every eel consumed comes from the wild.

The documentary follows the trail of a global network of smugglers, middlemen and high-ranking triad bosses. The investigative journey takes viewers from European fishing groundsvia Paris to Hong Kong and on to mainland China. It extends as far as Haiti and examines the role that the lucrative eel smuggling trade may have played in the circumstances surrounding the assassination of the Haitian president.

What begins as an investigation into a supposed niche area of the fishing industry turns into a shocking exposé of globalized environmental crime - with profit margins comparable to those of cocaine smuggling. The eel has become one of the most smuggled animals in the world.

With impressive cinematography and exclusive access to investigators, insiders and key figures, the film reveals how the pursuit of profit is quietly driving an ecological disaster.

 

Broadcasting Hours: 

DW English

SAT 11.07.2026 – 10:30 UTC
SAT 11.07.2026 – 21:30 UTC
SUN 12.07.2026 – 04:30 UTC

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