Final two men cleared in 'Operation Squarehook' fish poaching case

MINNEAPOLIS—Federal indictments against the last two of 10 men accused of fish poaching on area tribal waters in 2010 have been dismissed in U.S. District Court.

All 10 area men arrested in the case have had the charges dismissed.

In 2010, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources began Operation Squarehook to investigate illegal sale of fish in northern Minnesota focusing on allegations that tribal members caught walleye on lakes within reservation borders and sold them to non-Indians at below market rates. Authorities said netting fish for commercial purposes within the boundaries of the reservation was a violation of the Lacey Act, a conservation law signed in 1900 to enforce criminal and civil penalties for the illegal trade of animals.

http://www.bemidjipioneer.com/news/3774242-final-two-men-cleared-operation-squarehook-fish-poaching-case