Hong Kong Customs today (July 9) detected a suspected sea cargo smuggling case and seized about 10 600 kilograms of logs of suspected red sandalwood, an endangered species, from a container at the Kwai Chung Customhouse Cargo Examination Compound. The total value of the seizure was about $6.6 million.
Customs officers, through risk assessment, selected a 20-foot container arriving from India and declared to contain "glass flower pot" for inspection. Upon examination, Customs officers found the wood logs in the container.
As the wood logs were not declared on the manifest, they were seized by Customs officers for further investigation.
Under the Import and Export Ordinance, any person found guilty of importing unmanifested cargoes is liable to a maximum fine of $2 million and imprisonment for seven years.
Under the Protection of Endangered Species of Animals and Plants Ordinance, any person found guilty of illegally importing a specimen of a scheduled species of Appendix II without a licence is liable to a maximum fine of $50,000 and imprisonment for six months.
Ends/Thursday, July 9, 2015
