Hong Kong Customs detected a smuggling of endangered species case at the Hong Kong International Airport on April 1 (Monday) involving a man travelling from Malaysia.
They ended up seizing 63 live turtles, suspected of being scheduled endangered species with an estimated market value of about $819,000 (RM496,328.89).
According to the Hong Kong Customs and Excise Department, the perpetrator in question is a 37-year-old transit male passenger who arrived in Hong Kong from Malaysia on March 31 (Sunday) and planned to take a flight to the Philippines.
When Customs officers examined the man’s check-in baggage, 63 live turtles were found.
Upon further inspection by officers of the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD), the live turtles are suspected to be endangered species listed in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora and regulated under the Protection of Endangered Species of Animals and Plants Ordinance (Cap. 586) in Hong Kong.
The case has been handed over to the AFCD for follow-up action. Hong Kong Customs also took the opportunity to remind the public not to carry controlled items into and out of Hong Kong.
Under the Ordinance, any person importing, exporting or possessing specimens of endangered species not in accordance with the Ordinance commits an offence and will be liable to a maximum fine of $10 million (RM6,056,000) and imprisonment for 10 years upon conviction with the specimens forfeited.
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