Zhuhai’s Gongbei Customs announced in a statement yesterday that its officers at Gongbei checkpoint seized 67 hermit crabs on April 17.
According to the statement, on that day, customs officers at the checkpoint’s inspection hall noticed that a female traveller walking through the “green channel” was exhibiting a “nervous expression and evasive gaze”.
In the statement, customs officers identified the traveller as a female from the Chinese mainland surnamed Zhong.
They stopped her for inspection, the statement said, adding that customs officers discovered 67 hermit crabs were concealed in her handbag that she was attempting to smuggle from Macau to Zhuhai.
Subsequent identification by the Gongbei Customs Technical Center confirmed that the hermit crabs were of the species Coenobita perlatus (commonly known as the strawberry hermit crab).
In the statement, Gongbei Customs reminded the public that, in accordance with laws and regulations, bringing live animals and plants into the Chinese mainland without approval is prohibited. Those who violate these provisions will be held legally responsible by the authorities.
This undated handout photo provided by Zhuhai’s Gongbei Customs yesterday shows hermit crabs seized by its officers at Gongbei checkpoint on April 17.
