Zhuhai’s Gongbei Customs announced in a statement yesterday that its officers at the Qingmao Port (checkpoint) seized 16.1 kilograms of rosewood last month.
According to the statement, on October 17, customs officers at the checkpoint, while conducting routine inspections of outbound passengers’ luggage, noticed a large item wrapped in plastic film on a traveller’s trolley.
A follow-up inspection unearthed a log weighing 16.1 kilograms. The log had a light yellowish-white appearance with small black lenticels* and reddish-brown inner bark, suspected to be of the endangered rosewood species Dalbergia fusca, the statement said.
Upon appraisal by the Technical Centre of Gongbei Customs, the log was identified as Dalbergia melanoxylon, commonly known as African blackwood or grenadilla. It is an endangered species listed in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
In the statement, Gongbei Customs reminded the public that according to CITES and the Chinese mainland’s Wildlife Protection Law, as well as the regulations on the import and export of endangered wild animals and plants, it is prohibited to trade, carry, or mail endangered species and their products across border checkpoints without legal import and export certificates. The statement noted that serious violations may lead to criminal liability.
* Lenticels are small, raised, corky pores on the stems and roots of woody plants that allow for the direct exchange of gases between the internal tissues and the atmosphere. Think of them as tiny “breathing pores” for the bark of a tree. You can often see them as rough, horizontal lines or speckles on the bark of trees like birches or cherries. – DeepSeek
This undated handout photo provided by Zhuhai’s Gongbei Customs shows 16.1 kg of Dalbergia melanoxylon seized by it officers at Qingmao Port (checkpoint) on October 17.
