Passenger caught smuggling 63 live turtles worth RM498k

Source: thesun.my

PETALING JAYA: A passenger who arrived in Hong Kong from Malaysia on March 31 was caught by Hong Kong Customs for smuggling 63 live turtles.

According to the Hong Kong Customs and Excise Department, the 37-year-old male passenger had planned to take a flight to the Philippines.

An examination conducted on the man's check-in baggage revealed 63 live turtles of suspected scheduled 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.

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They also had an estimated market value of about $819,000 (RM498,000).

The case has been handed over to the AFCD for follow-up action.

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 and imprisonment for 10 years upon conviction with the specimens forfeited.