Customs announced on Sunday that they seized over 450 kg of dried shark fins, including suspected dried shark fins of scheduled endangered species, with an estimated market value of about $1.3 million on Friday. Following the detection of a suspected case of smuggling scheduled dried shark fins from an air passenger at Hong Kong International Airport last Thursday (Nov 23), Hong Kong Customs detected another similar case one day later on Friday (Nov 24)A 35-year-old male passenger had arrived in Hong Kong from Brazil via Ethiopia on November 24, and he made a customs declaration for the batch of controlled items and presented an image of a Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) document to customs officers. However, the documents were later confirmed invalid by officers of the Agriculture, Fisheries, and Conservation Department (AFCD), along with confirming that some of the dried shark fins in his 15 pieces of check-in baggage are of endangered species. They were able to seize over 450 kilograms of dried shark fins, including suspected dried shark fins of scheduled endangered species with an estimated market value of about HK$1.3 million. Under the Protection of Endangered Species of Animals and Plants Ordinance, any person found guilty of importing or exporting an endangered species without a license is liable to a maximum fine of HK$10 million and imprisonment for 10 years.

Source: The Standard November 27, 2023 15:40 UTC