Zhuhai’s Gongbei Customs announced in a statement yesterday that its officers seized 1.31 kg of Scleractinia (stony coral) at Gongbei Port (checkpoint) on May 13.
Gongbei Customs identified the smuggler as a Macau resident surnamed Chan.
According to the statement, on that day, Chan, carrying a long, thin plastic bag, entered the Chinese mainland through the “green channel” in the passenger inspection hall of the checkpoint. As customs officers noticed that Chan appeared to be nervous and behaved in an unusual manner, while his plastic carrier bag seemed distinctly heavy, they stopped him for inspection.
Upon further examination, the statement said, customs officers found a batch of suspected corals, weighing a total of 1.31 kg, concealed inside the plastic bag and wrapped in multiple layers of toilet paper.
According to the statement, the contraband was identified by the Technical Centre of Gongbei Customs as skeletal pieces of a species belonging to the order Scleractinia (aka stony corals). All species of the order Scleractinia are listed in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and are classified as national Grade II key protected wild animals, the statement said.
Gongbei Customs reminded the public in a statement that carrying endangered species or their products across the border is prohibited without an official import-export certificate. Serious offences constituting a crime will result in criminal prosecution in accordance with the law.
Customs seizes 15 turtles at HZMB
Meanwhile, the Chinese mainland’s General Administration of Customs (GACC) announced in a statement yesterday that Zhuhai’s Gongbei Customs seized 15 live turtles at Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge’s (HZMB) Zhuhai Port (checkpoint) on April 15.
According to the statement, on that day, while conducting inspection duties at the checkpoint’s inbound passenger inspection hall, customs officers noticed a traveller who had chosen the “green channel” displaying an unusual demeanour and with noticeably bulging, misshapen trouser pockets. The traveller was therefore stopped for inspection. Upon further examination, officers discovered 15 live turtles, with a total weight of 4.15 kg, tied up in socks and concealed inside both trouser pockets, the statement said, adding that the traveller was unable to provide any valid legal documentation for the animals.
On May 27, the batch of live turtles was identified by the Guangdong Haizheng Forensic Judicial Appraisal Centre as comprising six species, namely the razor-backed musk turtle, eastern box turtle, ornate box turtle, diamondback terrapin, striped mud turtle, and helmeted mud turtle. Among these, the statement said, the razor-backed musk turtle, the striped mud turtle, and the helmeted mud turtle are all listed in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
This undated handout photo provided by Gongbei Customs yesterday shows 1.31 kg of stony corals seized by its officers at Gongbei Port (checkpoint) on May 13.
This undated handout photo provided by General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China (GACC) yesterday shows 15 turtles seized by Zhuhai’s Gongbei Customs at HZMB Zhuhai Port (checkpoint) on April 15.
