Advertisement Police: Mass. men busted with 20 pounds of illegal elvers Elvers, a kind of eel, worth $8,000 to $12,000/pound Share Shares Copy Link Copy

Two men were arrested on the charge of possession of juvenile eels, known as elvers, without a license in Maine on Thursday.Joshua P. Medeiros, 30, of South Dartmouth, Mass., and Andrew P. Cournoyer, 43, of West Wareham, Mass., were arrested on Commercial Street in Portland around 2:30 p.m., said Sgt. Rob Beal of the Maine Marine Patrol. They had about 20 pounds of elvers that they were trying to sell.The elvers, which were kept in two coolers, had an estimated value of $8,000 to $12,000, Beal said.The elvers were sold in Portland, with the proceeds held by the Department of Marine Resources and then going through the court system.After their arrest, the men were taken to the Cumberland County jail, Beal said.Medeiros and Cournoyer did not say where they caught the elvers, but the Marine Patrol believes the elvers were caught in Massachusetts and taken to Maine, Beal said.The arrests were Maine's first for possession of elvers without a license this season, which began on April 6.