Hong Kong Customs yesterday (March 7) seized 31 corals of suspected scheduled endangered species with a total estimated market value of about $3,100 at the Lok Ma Chau Spur Line Control Point.
Customs officers intercepted an incoming 78-year-old male passenger at the Arrival Hall of the said Control Point yesterday. Upon examination, the batch of coral of suspected scheduled endangered species was seized from his rucksack. Officers of the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) attended the scene for inspection and confirmed that the batch of coral was of an 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 (the Ordinance) in Hong Kong. The case was handed over to the AFCD for follow-up investigation.
Customs reminds the public not to carry controlled items into and out of Hong Kong.
According to 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 and imprisonment for 10 years upon conviction with the specimens forfeited.
Members of the public may report any suspected smuggling activities to Customs' 24-hour hotline 182 8080 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk) or online form (eform.cefs.gov.hk/form/ced002).
