Hong Kong customs arrests 2 at city’s airport in connection with smuggled dried shark fins worth HK$2.6 million

Hong Kong customs officers have arrested two visitors from Brazil at the city’s airport after seizing 900kg (1,984lbs) of dried shark fins, including potentially endangered species, worth HK$2.6 million (US$333,603) in separate incidents over two consecutive days.

The Customs and Excise Department on Sunday said a 35-year-old passenger arriving in the city from Brazil via Ethiopia was intercepted on Friday after more than 450kg of dried shark fins, including those suspected of belonging to endangered species, worth about HK$1.3 million, were discovered in 15 pieces of checked-in luggage.

The man made a customs declaration for a batch of controlled items and showed an image of a Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) document.

But the document was later found to be invalid by the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department, according to customs.

The department said it was suspected that some of the fins belonged to sharks from endangered species listed in appendix II of CITES.

Species listed under the category may be at risk of extinction without proper trade controls and are regulated under the Endangered Species of Animals and Plants Ordinance.

In a similar case on Thursday, customs officers at the airport also arrested a 38-year-old woman arriving in the city from Brazil via Ethiopia after they found more than 450kg of dried shark fins, including those of endangered species, with a market value of about HK$1.3 million, in 15 pieces of checked-in luggage.

“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,” customs said.

The cases were handed over to the fisheries department for a follow-up investigation.

Customs has urged the public not to bring controlled items into and out of Hong Kong.

Under the city’s Protection of Endangered Species of Animals and Plants Ordinance, any person found guilty of importing or exporting an endangered species without a licence is liable to a maximum fine of HK$10 million and imprisonment for 10 years.