Customs In Hong Kong find Smuggled Dried Shark Fins worth Millions
Smuggled dried shark fins were discovered and seized on two separate days, worth millions of Hong Kong dollars. While we were celebrating Thanksgiving with family and friends on Thursday, others were trying to smuggle shark fins across the globe.
On Thursday, a 38-year-old Brazilian woman was traveling through Ethiopia to Hong Kong. She had with her 15 checked-in luggage, full of shark fins. The airport was able to seize HK$1.3 million worth of dried shark fins. Some of the dried fins are on the endanger shark species list. The woman did not have the proper documents for the large quantity of shark fins in her bags.
The following day, a man from Brazil was traveling via Ethiopia with 15 luggage. Once the customs officers went through his luggage, they discovered over 450kg of shark fins. The estimated value of the content is also said to be 1.3 million Hong Kong dollars. Some of these shark fins were also of endangered species.
The 35-year-old man presented paperwork for the shark fins and an image for Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) document. Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department was able to prove that these were false documents.
Illegal Shark Fins
In both cases, some of the dried shark fins are suspected of being from endangered species, listed in CITES appendix II. Species listed under appendix II are at risk of extinction under Endangered Species of Animals and Plants Ordinance. Just last year in November, there was a shark fin regulation vote to help prevent specific species of sharks from trade.
On Sunday’s interview, customs said, “It was discovered in both cases that crime syndicates not only attempted to use forged or invalid documents, but also deliberately sourced dried shark fins that were yet to be regulated and mixed them with the scheduled ones in order to evade detection.”
If the two Brazilian visitors are found guilty, they can face up to 10 years of imprisonment and fines up to HK$10 million.
