JUNE 2009 VOL. 22 NO. 2 2 The journalof the TRAFFIC networkdisseminates information TRAFFIC on the tradeinwild animaland plantresources BULLETIN PAPUA NEWGUINEA IVORY IN THAILAND HAWKSBILL TURTLE N IT NAM AND VIET TRADE IN S E I Z U R E S A N D P R O S E C U T I O N S

THE TRAFFIC BULLETIN SEIZURES AND PROSECUTIONS SECTION IS CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) SPONSORED BY THE FORESTRY establishes international controls over trade in wild plants and animals, or related products, of species that BUREAU, COUNCIL OF AGRICULTURE, have been, or may be, threatened due to excessive commercial exploitation. Parties have their own TAIWAN: COMMITTED TO SUPPORTING legislative vehicle by which to meet their obligations under CITES. The species covered by CITES are listed

CITES ENFORCEMENT in three Appendices, according to the degree of protection they need:

The cases reported below represent a selection of APPENDIX I includes species threatened with extinction which are or may be threatened by trade. recent seizures and prosecutions that have taken place Trade in specimens of these species is permitted only in exceptional circumstances. An export permit from around the world. The sources of this information are the country of origin (or a re-export certificate from other exporting countries) and an import permit from the cited at the end of each country section. The CITES country of importation are required. Appendix-listing for each species is placed in parentheses, where appropriate. APPENDIX II includes species not necessarily yet threatened, but which could become so if trade is not strictly controlled. Species are also included in Appendix II if they are difficult to distinguish from other species in Appendix II, in order to make it more difficult for illegal trade to take place through E U R O P E misidentification or mislabelling. An export permit from the country of origin (or a re-export certificate from other exporting countries) is required, but not an import permit.

APPENDIX III includes species that any Party identifies as being subject to regulation within its FRANCE jurisdiction for the purpose of preventing or restricting exploitation and as needing the co-operation of other Parties in the control of trade. Imports require a certificate of origin and, if the importation is from the State On 20 January 2009, Customs officials at Viry, that has included the species in Appendix III, an export permit is required. Haute-Savoie, stopped a vehicle travelling in the direction of Geneva. Inside the boot they discovered 33 carcasses of smoked animals, including three pythons, three monkeys and 22 19 February 2009, www.traffic.org/home/2009/2/19/rotter Enforcement officers and representatives porcupines (all reportedly CITES species). The dam-police-score-musical-wood.html; IUCN 2009. 2009 from the Federal Service for Supervision of goods originated from Central Africa, had IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2009.1. Natural Resources (Rosprirodnadzor) travelled entered the country through Roissy Airport, www.iucnredlist.org. Downloaded on 4 June 2009. to Milkovo to carry out further investigations. and were destined for restaurants in France and Following veterinary inspection, three of the Switzerland. All items were seized and the case RUSSIA birds were kept for treatment, but the was referred to the Public Prosecutor’s office. remainder were released. On 11 November 2008, traffic police from According to local ornithologists, as many as Milkovo District, Kamchatka, stopped a lorry 100 Gyr Falcons are smuggled from Kamchatka On 7 April 2009, some 15 Parisian jewellers carrying 38 Gyr Falcons Falco rusticolus (CITES I), each year and overall numbers in the region appeared before a Magistrates’ court accused a species in demand for use in falconry, partic- have dwindled to 500 pairs. of having illegally traded in bracelets made from ularly in the Middle East. Under Russian law, elephant (CITES I) hair between 1998 and 2008. possession of a Gyr Falcon from Kamchatka is The police were alerted to the sale of the illegal. This was the biggest such case recorded On 11 January 2009, at Domodedovo Interna- bracelets on the internet auction site e-Bay, in recent years, according to Alexey Vaisman of tional Airport, Moscow, Customs officials seized where they were directed to the jewellers and TRAFFIC Europe’s Russia office. a parcel containing hides, skulls and horns. The a wholesale dealer. During the course of their The smugglers claimed to have bought the expertise of TRAFFIC Europe-Russia, in collab- inquiry, the police seized more than 700 birds from an unidentified source in the town oration with the Russian CITES Scientific bracelets, and around 100 rings. The outcome of Ossora in Karaginsky District in the northern Authority, was called upon to identify the of the case was not reported. part of Kamchatka. Experts said that collection trophies, which were found to consist of two Similar cases have taken place in recent of such a large number of birds would have sets (two skulls; two pairs of horns) of Markhor months, with another Parisian jeweller receiving taken several months, which indicated a highly Capra falconeri (CITES I), six sets (six hides; six a three-month suspended prison sentence and a organized criminal smuggling operation. skulls; six pairs of horns) of Argali or Marco Polo fine of EUR3000 (USD4000) for selling elephant Sheep Ovis ammon polii (II), and one set (hide, hair jewellery. In February, another individual skull and pair of horns) of Ibex Capra sibirica. appeared at Créteil Magistrates’ Court and All trophies had been transported from received a suspended fine of EUR1500. Tajikistan with fake CITES permits. Hunting of Marco Polo sheep was closed this year by the Tribune de Genève, 13 February 2009: www.tdg.ch:80/gen- decision of the President of Tajikistan. Trophy eve/actu/saisie-boas-porcs-epics-fumes-2009-02-13; hunting of Markhor is allowed only in Pakistan, www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gfC_z0SJ and is restricted to six elderly male specimens wk-idohP0ENOAR0OWtVQ, 7 April 2009 and under strict international supervision.

NETHERLANDS On 3 April 2009, police officers inspecting a car in Ussuriisk, in Primorsky Province in the Russian In January 2009, police officers, acting on Far East, discovered the skin of an Amur Leopard information received from TRAFFIC, seized 249 Panthera pardus orientalis (CITES I). Only an veneer sheets of Brazilian Rosewood Dalbergia estimated 14 to 20 adult Amur Leopards and five nigra (CITES I) from two companies based in or six cubs survive in an area of just 2500 km² in Rotterdam and ‘s-Gravendeel. Neither company Russia’s south-western Primorye region, was able to provide documentation to prove the according to the IUCN Red List, which classifies wood had been legally imported or that it had this subspecies as Critically Endangered. It is been legally obtained. extinct in China and the Korean Peninsula. “The Rotterdam police are to be congrat- The skin’s identity was confirmed by experts ulated for their vigilance and decisive action from the Institute of Animal Husbandry and against illegal timber imports,” commented Rob Veterinary Medicine of the Primorsky State Parry-Jones, Director of TRAFFIC Europe. ARAMILEV / WWF RUSSIA S. Agricultural Academy, experts from Primorsky Brazilian Rosewood is used for making THE AMUR LEOPARD SKIN SEIZED BY RUSSIAN POLICE Province Hunting Department and WWF- musical instruments and furniture, but is IN PRIMORSKY PROVINCE; NO MORE THAN 20 ADULT Russia. They noted damage to the skin threatened by habitat loss. It is endemic to AMUR LEOPARDS ARE BELIEVED TO BE IN EXISTENCE. indicating that the animal, probably an adult Brazil and is classified as Vulnerable by IUCN. male, had been shot, most likely in 2008.

TRAFFIC Bulletin Vol. 22 No. 2 (2009) 73 S E I Z U R E S A N D P R O S E C U T I O N S

Photographs of the skin may help identify the “Thanks to the authorities and the high In March 2009, the UK Border Agency CITES Leopard by comparing it against a database of profile media coverage, fish retailers and traders team at the airport seized 26 Royal Pythons known surviving Amur Leopards. in Sweden are all aware of the regulations Python regius (CITES II/Annex B) being imported concerning caviar, and the illegal trade has been from the USA without correct import TRAFFIC Europe, 12 November 2008; www.wwf.ru/resour - reduced significantly,” commented Mats documentation. ces/news/article/eng/4475, 15 January 2009; www.traffic.org Forslund, TRAFFIC Europe’s representative /home/2009/4/7/amur-leopard-skin-seized-by-russian- based in Sweden. police.html, 7 April 2009; Jackson, P. and Nowell, K. 2008. In December 2008, UK Border Agency officers Panthera pardus orientalis IUCN 2009. 2009 ssp. . In: 5 November 2008, http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5h at Manchester Airport seized a shipment of live IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2009.1. CcdCRIwOEBHJsZ4sEIbLP0X71Fg; IUCN 2009. 2009 www.iucnredlist.org. Downloaded on 4 June 2009 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2009.1. reptiles imported from the USA which were www.iucnredlist.org. Downloaded on 4 June 2009; TRAFFIC not accompanied by CITES import permits. SWEDEN Europe, 3 March 2009; TRAFFIC Bulletin 19(1) Forty-four specimens were seized including African Spurred Tortoises Geochelone sulcata, On 5 November 2008, at Varberg district court, UK Common Iguanas Iguana iguana, Royal Python nine fishermen were found guilty of illegally Python regius and East African Spiny-tailed fishing more than 100 t of Atlantic Cod Gadus In November 2008, UK Border Agency officers Lizards Cordylus tropidosternum (all CITES II). morhua in the country’s largest-ever poaching at Dover Ferry Terminal intercepted a British- In January 2009, UK Border Agency officers case. The species is listed as Vulnerable by registered vehicle driven by two Vietnamese at the airport examined an air cargo shipment IUCN. They were accused of incorrect book- individuals and found over 100 kg of meat of 1000 kg of Hoodia Hoodia gordoni (CITES II) keeping of catches in the spring of 2005 in the concealed inside a stereo speaker system and powder imported from South Africa. Follow- Kattegat Strait. in bags. Further examination by the CITES Team up checks revealed that a UK CITES import The fishermen were all fined between and the removal of samples for DNA testing permit had not been issued for the shipment, SEK3740 and 70 000 (EUR375–7016, USD486– revealed that the produce was a mixture of which was confiscated. Hoodia is a succulent 9096), and one of them, who was also found Siamese Crocodile Crocodylus siamensis (Annex in the Apocynaceae family of flowering plants guilty of other crimes, was sentenced to five A; CITES I), freshwater turtle, dog and cat meat. and is in demand for its purported appetite- months in prison. Investigations are continuing. suppressant properties. In all, 16 fishermen were charged with catching 109 t of Atlantic Cod and passing it off as unquoted Pollack Pollachius pollachius (a member In November 2008, UK Border Agency CITES In December 2008, UK Border Agency officers of the cod family), in what appeared to be a ploy team officers at Heathrow Airport examined a at Coventry International Parcels Hub detected to circumvent EU quotas limiting cod fishing. shipment of tropical fish and seized 86 Bangaii one complete tusk of African Elephant The court however found that they had not Cardinal Fish Pterapogon kauderni, a species Loxodonta africana (CITES I) in a postal parcel in exceeded the permitted quota for 2005, and recently listed on Annex D of the EU transit from Lesotho to China. No CITES decided to drop charges against seven regulations and therefore in need of an import permits were available and the tusk was seized. fishermen who had not been captains on their notification. Following the seizure, it was ships at the time. discovered that the ornamental fish trade had The court also dropped the case against a not been informed of this listing. In February 2009, UK Border Agency officers at purchaser of fish who had been accused of In January 2009, UK Border Agency officers London Gatwick Airport seized two facilitating the scam. at the airport intercepted a Chinese national kilogrammes of unlicensed beluga caviar (roe According to the Swedish Board of Fisheries, arriving from Shanghai after a positive reaction from Beluga Huso huso, CITES II) being the case is serious since the illegal fishing of this from a detection dog of the passenger’s baggage. imported in baggage accompanied by pass- species puts further pressure on dwindling cod Further examination revealed a cooked bear engers arriving from Turkey. The caviar tins had stocks in the Kattegat Strait. Ursidae (CITES I/II) paw amongst other food no CITES labels. DNA forensic testing of the items. Use of dogs specializing in detection of caviar revealed that it was from the Siberian Products of Animal Origin (POAO) has recently Sturgeon Acipenser baerii (II). Enforcement action against illegal caviar traders in provided a large number of CITES-related Sweden is paying dividends, with just two tins of seizures, including traditional medicines, sea- illicit caviar discovered by county regulators On 14 May 2009, at Shrewsbury Crown Court, horses Hippocampus (CITES II), ginseng Panax (II) between 2006 and 2008, and the conviction on 19 David Neville Johnson, of Telford, was gaoled for and Houbara Bustards Chlamydotis undulata (I). December 2008 of two fishmongers and a retailer. In February 2009, UK Border Agency officers eight months and became the first person in the At the Court of Uppsala, they were convicted of at the airport seized two boxes of unaccom- UK to be given a three-year Serious Crime illegally selling 21 tins of caviar in 2005 and were panied baggage containing nine dead Houbara Prevention Order (SCPO) for wildlife offences. fined a total of SEK22 200 (USD2500). Bustards imported from Morocco. The baggage Johnson was charged with the illegal sale of 191 The clampdown on illegal caviar in Sweden was unclaimed and all the specimens were Hermann’s Tortoises Testudo hermanni and began in 2005, mainly in Uppsala and Stockholm. confiscated. One of the dead birds was wearing seven Spur-thighed Tortoises T. graeca (both In November 2005, the 21 tins of osetra (roe, most a leg ring indicating it had been bred at a conser- CITES II and EU Annex A, trade in which is commonly from the Persian Sturgeon Acipenser vation centre in Morocco. subject to the strictest controls), making false persicus), sevruga (from the Stellate Sturgeon statements to obtain permits and the Acipenser stellatus) and beluga caviar (from Beluga prohibited purchase of 200 Hermann’s Huso huso), were confiscated in Uppsala. In court, Tortoises. it was revealed that the caviar had come from The SCPO bans Johnson from possessing any Estonia via Finland, was half the normal price, and EU Annex A species for three years. The judge lacked appropriate documentation. also ordered an inquiry under the provisions of In Gothenburg the same month, police the Proceeds of Crime Act. confiscated 12 tins of caviar from three different In March 2008, Johnson applied to the UK retailers, who were similarly unable to produce CITES Management Authority (Animal Health) the correct documentation. All were subseq- for permits to sell 100 Hermann’s Tortoises. uently convicted of selling illegal caviar and fined Owing to anomalies in information provided, an a total of SEK11 400 (USD1300). AH Wildlife Inspector, accompanied by an The cases attracted high profile media officer from NWCU, conducted an inspection attention, with fish retailers claiming that they at his Telford address in order to examine the

were unaware of the legislation. Subsequently, G. CLARKE / UKBA specimens that were the subject of the the relevant Swedish trade association DEAD HOUBARA BUSTARDS IMPORTED FROM application. As a result of the inspection and contacted its members to inform them about MEXICO AND SEIZED AT HEATHROW AIRPORT, UK. anomalies discovered, the application was the rules covering the caviar trade. refused.

74 TRAFFIC Bulletin Vol. 22 No. 2 (2009) S E I Z U R E S A N D P R O S E C U T I O N S

In November 2008, following a protracted REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO Niekerk insisted his interest in the animals was investigation and based on intelligence which for research purposes and that he would be suggested that Johnson had sold tortoises On 19 March 2009, in Brazzaville, a Congolese appealing the ruling. illegally, NWCU officers, AH Wildlife Inspectors national was sentenced to 12 months’ imprison- A separate arrest warrant was issued for an and UK Border Agency Officers, supported by ment and fined XAF100 000 (USD145) and alleged accomplice who was reported to be on officers from West Mercia Police and West ordered to pay a further one million francs to the run. All the recovered animals are now at Midlands Police, executed search warrants at the Ministry of the Forestry Economy. Another Antananarivo’s main zoo. It is not clear whether various addresses associated with Johnson. He suspect fled before he could be brought to court. they will be returned to their natural habitat. was subsequently arrested and a large quantity The pair was apprehended by the authorities of documentation was seized. on 20 December 2008 as they prepared to sell Associated Press, 9 December 2008 Whilst on police bail, Johnson bought a a live Chimpanzee (CITES I and Pan troglodytes SOUTH AFRICA further 200 Hermann’s Tortoises illegally, which protected in Congo). were sold on without valid permits. On 6 February 2009, three Chinese business- www.brazzavilleadiac.com/index.php?action=depeche&de men appeared in the Middelburg Regional Court p_id=28217&oldaction=liste®pay_id=0&them_id=0& UK Border Agency CITES Team; NWCU press release, in connection with the smuggling of around 50 15 May 2009 cat_id=3&ss_cat_id=54&LISTE_FROM=0&select_month =03&select_year=2009 rhino horns, mainly out of Kruger National Park. It is the largest rhino-horn poaching event in A F R I C A South Africa’s legal history. The trio, who were KENYA arrested in January 2009, were part of an illegal hunting ring also consisting of South African and On 23 January 2009, at Makadara law courts, Mozambican members. On 15/16 November 2008, dozens of suspected three Chinese men were charged with illegal dealers in illegal wildlife products were arrested possession of government trophies following and one tonne of raw, powdered and processed their arrest, in three separate cases the previous ivory seized in an operation encompassing five day at Jomo Kenyatta Airport, in possession of At the end of March/early April 2009, the African countries. The raids, which were the ivory. All suspects, who were travelling to skipper of a Taiwanese-flagged vessel, the Chien culmination of a four-month undercover oper- different destinations in China, were also found Jui No 102, was fined R1.5m (USD166 000) for ation code-named Operation Baba, co-ordinated with Lion Panthera leo (CITES I/II) teeth, ivory contravening permit conditions for foreign by INTERPOL and involving the Kenya Wildlife bracelets and necklaces. vessels entering the South African Exclusive Service (KWS) and the Lusaka Agreement Task Kenya Wildlife Service sniffer dogs detected Economic Zone (EEZ). This is the highest fine Force, targeted local ivory markets, airports and two processed ivory carvings weighing 2.5 kg ever imposed for such a transgression. Shark border crossings in Kenya, Republic of the and one necklace concealed in a bag. The skin and shark trunks confiscated from the Congo, Ghana, Uganda and Zambia. Fifty seven second suspect was arrested by Customs vessel were also forfeited to the State. people were arrested. Also seized were teeth officials in possession of two necklaces, four The Chien Jui No 102 was seized by fishery of Hippopotamus Hippopotamus amphibius Lion teeth and four bracelets, while the third control inspectors of the Department of (CITES II) and skins of Cheetah Acinonyx jubatus was in possession of 380 g of carved ivory. Environmental Affairs and Tourism (DEAT) on (I), Leopard Panthera pardus (I), Serval Leptailurus Two of the suspects were travelling from 14 March 2009 and more than 1.6 t of dried serval (II) and python Pythonidae (1/II). Kenya, while the third had arrived from Uganda. shark fins and 5.1 t of shark trunks were seized. Some 36 of the suspects were arrested in The proportion of fins reported was in excess Kenya, and included three Chinese nationals. of the 15% tolerance limit permitted by the INTERPOL Secretary General Ronald K. On 31 January 2009, a Nairobi businesswoman permit conditions. In addition, the permit Noble said that Operation Baba was the first in was arrested with 74 kg of bushmeat at a popular conditions for foreign vessels entering the South a series of such operations being planned meat-eating market in downtown Nairobi. African EEZ require such vessels to conduct worldwide [see also under Indonesia]. fishing activities in accordance with the The German Government was one of the management and conservation measures of the major funders of the operation. On 27 April 2009, at Kajiado court, south of relevant Reg ional Fisheries Management Organi - Nairobi, a Kenyan and a Tanzanian pleaded guilty sations (RFMOs), including the International www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/241972,massive-african- to charges of illegally possessing 512 kg of Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic operation-traps-scores-of-illegal-ivory-dealers.html, 17 Nov- elephant tusks in what is believed to be the Tunas (ICCAT). The Chien Jui No 102 had on ember 2008; Africa World News, 17 November 2008; www. largest seizure of illegal ivory in recent years. board approximately 1.6 t of shark fins without blueridgenow.com/article/20081117/API/811171996 The ivory had been seized from the car the the appropriate corresponding quantity of shark pair was travelling in at Mbirikani on the Mali- trunks present. The variance of the shark fin to DEMOCRATIC REP. OF THE CONGO Lokitoktok road, some 50 km from the border trunk ratio was more than five percent in with Tanzania, on 25 April. The ivory was est- contravention of ICCAT recommendations. On 26 April 2009, a suspected trafficker was im ated to have derived from 70 elephants, The vessel’s owner applied to amend the caught and arrested at Goma International based on the weight of the tusks seized. permit after the discrepancy was discovered. Airport while disembarking from a flight from The South African-based representatives for the Walikale (in the interior of the country and Kenya Wildlife Service, 23 January 2009; http://africas- owner of the vessel communicated to the close to gorilla habitat). In his possession was a ciencenews.org/asns/index.php?option=com_content&tas= department on behalf of their client that “the young female Eastern Gorilla Gorilla beringei view&id=973&Itemid=2, 1 February 2009; www.coast - delay in applying for the amended EEZ permit (CITES I). The animal was concealed in a bag and week.com/3218-05.htm was due to a misunderstanding as to when the was suffering from over-heating and dehydration amended permit ought to be applied for”. after having spent over six hours in transit. MADAGASCAR The vessel will be blacklisted on the IUU The seizure follows a three-month undercover (Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated) fishing list investigation by the Congolese Wildlife Authority On 9 December 2008, Jo van Niekerk, a of vessels involved in illegal fishing practice. (ICCN) to bust an international wildlife smuggling zoology student from Pretoria, South Africa, ring in the country. According to Emmanuel de was sentenced to one year in gaol. He was Merode, Director of Virunga National Park, there arrested in November at Antananarivo Airport On 6 April 2009, DEAT officials arrested a man has been a significant upsurge in the trafficking of in possession of some 388 animals, including near Hermanus, after more than 2000 abalones baby Gorillas in recent months. Investigations around 100 lizards and frogs that were found in Haliotis were found in the vehicle he was driving. have yet to reveal where these animals are being the lining of his jacket. Among the specimens On 4 April 2009 another person was sent and who is buying them. were several species only found on Madagascar, arrested in Hermanus and a total of 2474 including a fanged snake and the nocturnal leaf- abalones and a vehicle were confiscated. Court http://iccn.gorilla.cd tailed gecko [species not reported]. Van hearings are pending.

TRAFFIC Bulletin Vol. 22 No. 2 (2009) 75 S E I Z U R E S A N D P R O S E C U T I O N S

In April 2009, the Master and First Officer of Seizures in China involving ivory: two Korean-flagged vessels, the MFV Oryong 371 A S I A and the MFV Oryong 373, were each sentenced On 5 January 2009, border soldiers at the to a fine of R500 000 (USD60 000), or five years’ Hengjiang checkpoint, Fangchenggang City, imprisonment. The sailors were guilty of contra- EAST ASIA Guangxi Province, confiscated 150 kg of vening the permit conditions for foreign vessels CHINA suspected elephant tusks from a coach in entering the South African EEZ. Both vessels Dongxing City, on route to Xiamen City, Fujian had discharged quantities of fish other than what On 25 February 2009, at Yunnan Provincial Province. The material was to be identified by was stipulated in their respective applications Higher People’s Court, Li Miwei was sentenced the relevant authority. for an EEZ permit as well as exceeded the limit to life imprisonment for smuggling, over a On 6 January 2009, Kunming forest police as set out in the application. period of several years, tablets containing seized 31 Asian Elephant Elephas maximus The MFV Oryong 371 discharged a total of pangolin Manis (CITES II) ingredients. Li, who (CITES I) tusks (36 kg) that had been purchased 18.5 t of fish although their application states ran a smuggling ring, was also fined in Yingjiang City, on the border with Myanmar. they only had 7.5 t of fish on board the vessel CNY300 000 (USD44 000). Two suspects were detained. for discharge. A total of 667 kg undeclared He was arrested in March 2007 along with On 21 May 2009, at Chongqing No. 1 Inter- shark fins was also confiscated. The vessel was other gang members, who received gaol terms mediate People’s Court, Chongqing City, a man, found guilty of transhipping 18.1 t of fish illegally of between three and five years. surname Cao, was sentenced to three years in without a valid permit. At the Intermediate People’s Court of gaol for smuggling ivory into the country which The MFV Oryong 373 discharged a total of Kunming City, Yunnan Province, on 21 August he had obtained while working in Japan; he sold approximately 10 t of fish. In their application 2008, Li and seven others were charged with 1.5 kg of ivory to two buyers over the internet. they declared a total of 17.5 t of fish on board smuggling more than 20 t of pangolin scales. Li, Customs police officers found the ivory in the the vessel for discharge. Upon investigation, who managed an internet bar in Menglian post in September and arrested Cao in October DEAT inspectors found that the species did not County, Pu’er City, as a front, was responsible when he arrived in Shanghai from Japan. match the species stated on the application in for contacting buyers and purchasing pangolin The two buyers, named Qin and Zhang, were addition to the lesser amount of fish discharged. scales from sellers in Myanmar which were then sentenced, respectively, to one year of impris- Approximately 10 t of fish had been trans- transported by his gang to Menglian County. He onment (with a one-year reprieve) and a six- shipped illegally without a valid permit. The also bribed two post office clerks and posted month gaol term (with six-months’ reprieve). vessel discharged a total of 389 kg of shark fin the scales to buyers across the country. which exceeded the 15% tolerance limit The court said the gang had been smuggling http://news.sohu.com/20090107/n261621955.shtml; http: permitted by the permit conditions. The crew pangolin scales on the border with Myanmar //yn.yunnan.cn/html/2009-01/08/content_189454.htm; also did not discharge shark trunks. since 2001. The scales were mostly brought http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-05/23/ In addition to the sentences meted out, all from India, Thailand, Nepal and Lao PDR before content_11424030.htm the fish confiscated by the department was being transported to Yunnan via Myanmar. HONG KONG forfeited to the State. The department is in the process of providing all the details of both On 9 February 2009, at Hong Kong Inter- vessels to the appropriate international and In March 2009, at Dehong Prefecture national Airport, Agriculture, Fisheries and regional fisheries organizations for consid- Intermediate People’s Court, Yunnan Province, Conservation Department personnel, in coll- eration for further sanctions. Chinese businessman, Mr Yu, was sentenced to a bor ation with the Customs and Excise life imprisonment and his property confiscated Department, foiled an attempt by a Hong Kong after being found guilty of smuggling 78 python Drie Chinese in hof in SA se grootste renostersaak Die- resident to import in his luggage two Angonoka burger.com, 8 February 2009; Department of Environ- Pythonidae skins (CITES II and national Grade 1 (Ploughshare) Tortoises mental Affairs and Tourism media statement, 14 March/6 protected wildlife). Yu was asked by his Astrochelys yniphora (CITES I), 21 hedgehogs and 23 sugar gliders April/29 April 2009: www.deat.gov.za; www.environment. Burmese partner to transport the skins from [species not reported] from Thailand. gov.za/NewsMedia/MedStat/2009 Mar16/14032009 Myanmar to Ruili City in Yunnan. Police seized MedStatmnt.html; www.environment gov.za//NewsMedia/ The man will be charged under the the snakes from a taxi in Husa Village, Prevention MedStat/2009Apr6/medStatmnt 06042009.doc , the Longchuan County, in July 2008. Yu’s partner is of Cruelty to Animals Ordinance (Cap 169) Protection of Endangered Species of Animals and ZAMBIA still at large. Plants Ordinance (Cap 586), and the Rabies Ordinance (Cap 421). On 2 March 2009, four people, including two A total of 59 wildlife seizures have been On 26 March 2009, at Ningbo Middle People’s police officers, were arrested in Kafue for made at Customs checkpoints from January to Court, Zhejiang Province, Cen Zhangyao was trading in 72 pieces of elephant ivory and five March this year, compared to 44 cases for the sentenced to death for smuggling Saker Falcons pieces of rhino horns. The items were packed same period last year, according to a (CITES II). Others involved in the in trunks with pieces of amethyst gemstones. Falco cherrug department spokesman. Officials of the Zambia Wildlife Authority smuggling—Wu Zheng, Zhang Hao and Qian (Zawa), Zambia police and Chilanga traffic Wenbin—were sentenced to life imprisonment. Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department press All the birds had been transported to Ningbo officers carried out the arrests following releases, 10 February/9 April 2009 information received from a member of the by Cen Zhangyao for short-term feeding while public. illegal paperwork for their export was being TAIWAN Zawa Director General, Lewis Saiwana, said prepared. Zhang Hao, a Ningbo Customs staff that for such a large amount of ivory, the member, applied to export the birds under a On 12 February 2009, at Taipei International poachers had killed 36 elephants but he said it false name. Wu Zheng and Qian Wenbin, who Airport, luggage from Indonesia was seized after was suspected that the animals were killed in were responsible for security in Shanghai it was found to contain, in baskets and tubes, two neighbouring countries and not in Zambia. Pudong International Airport, allowed the Slow Lorises Nycticebus coucang (CITES I) and “In our continued effort to clamp down on falcons to be exported illegally. During the past eight CITES II parrots (Moustached Parakeet the scourge and illegal trafficking of wildlife year, the gang have smuggled 82 Saker Falcons. Psittacula alexandri, Moluccan Lory Eos bornea, products, Zawa stepped up its operations to Eclectus Parrot Eclectus roratus, and Green-naped arrest the situation.” www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2009-02/26/content_751 Lorikeet Trichoglossus haematodus). Dr Saiwana said all Zambian rhinoceroses 4712.htm; 26 February 2009; www.chinaview.cn/index.htm; ; were safe and not endangered because of the www.chinaview.cn2008-08-2207:35:32 http://foster.aweb. stringent 24-hour security services provided by com.cn/2009/0402/658101539380.shtml, 8 April 2009; In March 2009, Customs officials intercepted a Zawa. www.cwca.org.cn/Article/ShowArticle.asp?Article ID=14862 parcel arriving by post from Tanzania. Inside they found 84 Leopard Tortoises Geochelone http://allafrica.com/stories/200903021407.html pardalis (CITES II).

76 TRAFFIC Bulletin Vol. 22 No. 2 (2009) S E I Z U R E S A N D P R O S E C U T I O N S

The reptiles were destroyed owing to (I) and Indian Flapshell Turtle Lissemys punctata On 26 February 2009, at Bhavnagar Court, in quarantine regulations. Since 2002, Taiwan has punctata (II). The reptiles were contained in 60 Gir, Gujarat, Prabhakar Keshav Gajakosh was banned the importation of three tortoise jute sacks, some 50–55 specimens in each. They sentenced to five years’ ‘rigorous’ imprisonment species—Leopard Tortoise, African Spurred were released under a court order on the (or hard labour) for poaching Asiatic Lions Tortoise G. sulcata (CITES II), and Bell’s Hinged banks of the Yamuna, in the presence of STF Panthera leo persica (CITES I). Others, members Tortoise Kinixys belliana (II)—owing to the risk officers, Uttar Pradesh State Forest Department of a gang of which Gajakosh was leader, and of heartwater disease. officials, and two representatives from the who are already in prison for an earlier Lion Wildlife Protection Society of India (WPSI) who smuggling case, were sentenced to terms of up assisted in the case. Three people, who were to five years’ ‘rigorous’ imprisonment and fines On 11 May 2009, at Taipei International Airport, transporting the turtles in a lorry, were arrested of Rs2000 (USD40). They will serve both two people returning from Jakarta, Indonesia, and sent to Naini Jail. sentences concurrently and were also each were stopped by Customs after 27 kg and On 7 February 2009, a jeep carrying three fined Rs2000. This is a landmark judgement in 14.9 kg of agarwood Aquilaria (CITES II) was tonnes of live tortoises [species not reported], the country for a wildlife poaching case. discovered in their respective luggage; no CITES again sourced from Uttar Pradesh and bound Gajakosh, well known to the police and with permit could be presented. The agarwood was for Kolkata, was seized at a forest checkpoint national and international links, was arrested on seized and the case has been sent to the district near Barachatti in Gaya, Bihar. 13 December 2007 following information prosecution office. passed on to Karnataka police officials by the Gujarat police force. In his possession were www.libertytimes.com.tw/2009/new/feb/14/today- On 31 January 2009, the north-east district skins of 23 Leopards Panthera pardus (CITES I), life4.htm; Customs and Forestry police, Taiwan; http://news. police of Delhi confiscated a large consignment three Tiger (I) skins and 20 river otter skins. chinatimes.com/2007Cti/2007Cti-Rtn/2007Cti-Rtn- of art brushes made out of mongoose hair at a Content/0,4526,110105+112009051100884,00.html factory in the Bhajanpura area. Police officers arrested two people and the owner is being On 20 March 2009, in one of the biggest SOUTH ASIA sought. All species of mongoose Herpestes are operations to combat the illegal trade in wildlife INDIA protected under Schedule 2 Part II of the parts, officers of the Assam police, the Central Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. Reserve Police Force and State Wildlife officials In the latter part of 2008, Kerala State Forest According to Saurabh Gupta, wildlife officer carried out search operations near Manas Department officials became aware that some from People for Animals, who notified the police National Park in Barpeta district where they 11 species of owl were being smuggled from about the consignment, more than 30 000 recovered skins and bones of animals including Kerala to Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, north brushes were confiscated, part of a consignment Leopard Panthera pardus (CITES I), Tiger P. tigris India and Gujarat. The eyes of the birds are to be sent by road from Delhi to Mumbai. (I), Gaur Bos gaurus (I), and deer. Sixteen people reportedly used in black magic rituals in the Gupta states that to make the brushes, the live were arrested. belief that consumption will improve eyesight; mongoose is killed by placing it in boiling water the blood is also consumed. Investigations to where it remains for several hours, after which http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Earth/Kerala_Smuggling_ locate agents trading in owls are now under way time its skin and hair is removed by machine. of_owls/articleshow/3749664.cms, 24 November 2008; in the light of the findings that there is a well- Between one and five grammes of hair are The Sangai Express, 12 January 2009, www.e-pao. established smuggling chain. Owls are fully recovered from one mongoose, which means net/GP.asp?src=3.130109.jan09; http://timesofindia.india - times.com/Health_Science/Earth/43_jailed_for_smuggling_ protected under Schedule 1 of the Wild Life Act. that this consignment was derived from over 100 000 specimens. The brushes are made in animal_parts_in_MP/articleshow/3962751.cms; Wildlife Protection Society of India, www.wpsi-india.org/ news/ - the Sherkot area of Bijnor district, Uttar 25012009.php, 25 January 2009; www.zeenews.com/ On 7 January 2009, personnel of the Customs Pradesh, and are sold worldwide. The owner of states/2009-02-07/505638news.html; http://timesofindia. Preventative Force stationed at Pallel Gate, the factory has similar cases registered against indiatimes.com/Delhi/30000_mongoose_hair_brushes_seiz Chandel district, Manipur, seized 58.4 kg of deer him following raids at outlets belonging to him ed_2_held/articleshow/4057990.cms; www.the states man. - [species not reported] horn antlers and 116 kg in other parts of the city. A case under the net/page.arcview.php?clid= 10&id=276710&usrsess=1,14 of pangolin scales from a lorry travelling Wildlife Protection Act has been registered and February 2009; http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/ Health- Manis Science/Earth/Tiger-skulls-drugs-bound-for-China-seized-in- from Imphal towards Moreh, Manipur, on the investigations into the matter continue. Manipur/articleshow/4152868.cms, 19 February 2009; border with Myanmar. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/16-poachers-get-5- yr-jail-for-killing-Gir-lions/rssarticleshow/4198248.cms; On 16 February 2009, personnel from Assam http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Rajkot/From- On 9 January 2009 it was reported that as many Rifle’s 20th battalion in Chandel district, timber-to-tiger-skin-trade-Gajakosh-did-it-all/articleshow/41 as 43 people were sentenced in Katni, Madhya Manipur, seized animal parts, including skulls of 97270.cms, 26/27 February 2009; www.theshillongtimes. in Pradesh, for poaching and smuggling animal two Tigers Panthera tigris (CITES I), two Tiger com, 23 March 2009; Akhilesh Kumar, TRAFFIC India, litt., 16 April 2009 parts, including skins of Leopard Panthera pardus paws, 16 kg of Tiger bones, 340 kg of pangolin (CITES I) and Tiger P. tigris (I). Eleven people Manis (CITES II) shell and 191 deer antlers from were sentenced to three-years’ imprisonment, a lorry at a checkpoint in Bongyang village. The Seizures involving Red Sandalwood prominent among them known poachers vehicle was heading towards Moreh, on the Pterocarpus santalinus (CITES II) Shabbir Qureshi, Darya Singh and Ashok Pardhi, border with Myanmar. Sources said that the who were arrested in June 2004. Singh had consignment was to be smuggled to Myanmar In December 2008, personnel of Assam Rifles cases registered against him in Haryana, Uttar from where it would have headed to East and 20th battalion (a paramilitary force) at Pradesh and Bihar. A further 18 people were South-east Asian markets. Bongyang village, Chandel district, Manipur, sentenced to two years’ imprisonment and the According to Pranabesh Sanyal, former seized 75 kg of Red Sandalwood Pterocarpus remainder to one year in gaol. director of the Sunderbans Tiger Reserve, it is santalinus (CITES II), along with elephant (I) possible that the animals were poached in tusks, trunks and jaw parts, deer skins and deer eastern Uttar Pradesh. “This seems to be a new antlers. The consignment had been on its way On 22 January 2009, more than five tonnes of route that the poachers are using to smuggle to Myanmar through Moreh, Manipur, on the tortoises—some 3000 animals—were seized in animal parts to South-east Asia.” he said. border with Myanmar. Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, by the Special Task The Moreh-Myanmar and Assam-Siliguri On 9 December 2008, officials of the Force (STF) of the Uttar Pradesh police. This is routes are the major conduits for trade in illegal Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), one of the largest freshwater turtle hauls ever wildlife parts from the north-eastern region Coimbatore, seized 10.51 t of Red Sandalwood recorded. Three species listed in Schedule 1 of and, reportedly, from other States in the logs. The consignment was bound for Kochi the Wild Life (Protection) Act were identified: country, including Red Sandalwood Pterocarpus from Bangalore and was intended for export. Indian Softshell Turtle Aspideretes gangeticus santalinus (CITES II) from Andhra Pradesh (see The logs have been deposited at the Inland (CITES I), Black Pond Turtle Geoclemys hamiltonii below). Container Depot at Singanallur, Tamil Nadu.

TRAFFIC Bulletin Vol. 22 No. 2 (2009) 77 S E I Z U R E S A N D P R O S E C U T I O N S

On 24 December 2008, a joint raid Bangkok-based operational headquarters of MALAYSIA conducted by the police and Sashastra Seema ASEAN-WEN). Bal (SSB) (a border guarding force) at In total, 25 major wildlife law enforcement On 2 November 2008, marine police based in Gossaigaon, in Kokrajhar district, Western actions have been reported by local authorities Sandakan seized 10 000 Green Turtle Chelonia Assam, yielded around 630 deer antlers and since July 2008, eclipsing the 16 reported for the mydas (CITES I) eggs that had been abandoned nearly 3000 kg of Red Sandalwood. No arrests same period in 2007. Where possible, rescued on Kampung Forest beach; four people escaped were made. The raid was carried out at a saw animals were placed in rehabilitation centres. by speedboat. This is the largest seizure of mill that had closed down several years earlier Over 14 t of dead animals were also recovered turtle eggs by local authorities in 2009 to date. following a Supreme Court ban on tree-felling by authorities in the second half of 2008, most in the north-eastern region in 1996. Kokrajhar of which were destroyed. Divisional Forest Officer (Wildlife), Sonali On 29 April 2009, 15 t of Red Sandalwood Ghosh, said the recovery of such a huge ASEAN-WEN PressRelease_ASEANStepsupFightAgainst- (CITES II) Pterocarpus santalinus was seized at consignment had confirmed that a powerful WildlifeCrim.pdf, 18 December 2008 the Westport Free Zone, following weeks of international racket was at work in the area. surveillance by the Port Klang Authority and the On 3 April 2009, police and forest personnel CAMBODIA Malaysian Timber Industry Board (MTIB). The seized an undisclosed amount of Red wood was exported from Haldia Port in Orissa, Sandalwood from a lorry at Kurunji Nagar On 9 November 2008, Cambodia’s Wildlife India (where it is found only in Cuddhpah and checkpost, Dharmapuri, Tamil Nadu. There Rapid Rescue Team (WRRT) rescued hundreds Chittoore, in Andhra Pradesh), and was on its were three arrests. of live reptiles from traffickers in Kg Chnnang way to China where it is in high demand. Province. More than 485 kg of turtles, tortoises MTIB Director-General Dr Jalaluddin Harun http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Health-Science/ and snakes, including Burmese Pythons Python said the huge demand for the rare sandalwood Earth/Tiger-skulls-drugs-bound-for-China-seized-in- molurus (CITES II) and Yellow-headed Temple had enticed smugglers to use Westport as a Manipur/articleshow/4152868.cms; www.thehindu.com/ transshipment route in the illegal trading of the 2008/12/12/stories/2008121260250800.htm; Tu r t l e s Hieremys annandalii (II) were recovered www.indianexpress.com/news/huge-haul-of-animal-parts-in- from two vehicles headed for the Viet Nam exotic wood. assam/403031/; www.hindu.com/2009/04/05/stories/ border. Two people were arrested. “The sandalwood was declared as galvanized 2009040558940800.htm; Akhilesh Kumar, TRAFFIC India, iron. Cut as logs measuring 1.2 m to 3.4 m with in litt. , 16 April 2009 www.asean-wen.org/index.php?option=com_content& a width of 20 cm, all the 269 Red Sandalwood view=article&id=75:major-wildlife-law-enforcement- logs were stacked in a container,” he said. He PAKISTAN actions-souheast-asia-july-december-2008&catid=34:law- added that smugglers had attempted to use enforcement-actions&Itemid=86 Malaysia, Singapore and even Myanmar as In March 2009, Sindh Wildlife Department transshipment hubs to bring the wood to China. officials seized a consignment of some 550 INDONESIA Red Sandalwood does not yield oil and is Horsefield’s Tortoises Testudo horsefieldii fragrant when fresh. It is used in the carving of (CITES II) from the cargo compartment of a On 16 November 2008, sea port police seized statues of Chinese deities, altars, traditional Quetta-Karachi bound train. The Pakistan some 150 kg of frozen pangolin Manis (CITES musical instruments and furniture. Railways must check before registering any II) meat found in boxes in an empty taxi at Dr Jalaluddin said that MTIB had uncovered cargo to see what it holds; these boxes had Bahauheni Port, Lampung. seven smuggling cases involving Red been officially registered as normal cargo. Sandalwood this year to date. Daulat Khan was arrested and fined Rs2000 Port Klang Free Zone manager R. Sri (USD40). He was ordered to sign an agreement On 23 March 2009, police in Bali arrested a Muhunan said the port risk management team that he will stop capturing and trading tortoises; Czech national wanted internationally for his would continue to be on high alert for such if he reoffends he will be fined Rs0.5 million. alleged leading role in a wildlife smuggling smugglers. The tortoises were to be released in the network in Brazil. The arrest came after “We will work with the authorities and wild. They had been collected from the apple intensive investigative and surveillance work by neighbouring ports to ensure that illegal trading and grape orchards of Quetta, Naushaki and Indonesian police officers who were able to of exotic wood is curbed.” other districts of Balochistan; they were to be locate and arrest him on the basis of an sold at market in Karachi. Fish aquaria in INTERPOL Red Notice (issued to seek the http://asean-wen.org/index.php?option=com_content& Karachi have apparently started to keep this provisional arrest of a wanted person with a view= article&id=75:major-wildlife-law-enforcement-actions species as showpieces and the reptile is also in view to extradition based on an arrest warrant -souheast-asia-july-december-2008&catid=34:law- demand in the pet trade. or court decision), and international law enforcement-actions&Itemid=86http://thestar. enforcement intelligence after he entered the com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/5/20/nation/3944561 www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2009%5C03%5 country. The operation followed information &sec=nation C05%5Cstory_5-3-2009_pg12_6, 5 March 2009 received from the Czech police and involved collaboration between INTERPOL’s National Pangolin seizures in Malaysia: SOUTH-EAST ASIA Central Bureaus (NCBs) in Brasilia, Jakarta, Prague, Malaysia and Qatar, the Czech Environ- On 19 October 2008, marine police seized 42 In the last six months of 2008, law enforcement mental Inspectorate, Austrian authorities, and pangolins Manis (CITES II) from a vessel in the action against illegal wildlife traders throughout INTERPOL’s Fugitive Investi gative Support Malacca Straits and arrested two people who South-east Asia was stepped up and resulted in (FIS) unit in Geneva. are being investigated under Sections 64 and the seizure of more than 24 175 specimens of “All crimes with an international dimension 66(2)(a) of the Wildlife Protection Act 1972. The protected species destined for restaurants, call for international law enforcement co- boat was handed over to the Department of tanneries, the pet trade and other industries, operation. The arrest of this wanted individual Wildlife and National Parks. and led to more than 100 arrests. This action demonstrates the results that can be achieved On 25 November, Malaysian marine police reflects the commitment and increasing capacity when the fight against crime is taken to the from Maur seized 65 pangolins in a raid on a of the ASEAN-WEN (Association of Southeast frontline as part of concerted international house in Bukit Pasir. Three people were Asian Nations Wildlife Enforcement Network) action using global law enforcement networks detained. On 3 December 2008 they seized a to fight wildlife crime. Under ASEAN-WEN, and resources,” said INTERPOL’s Executive further 44 pangolins from a fishing boat near more officers are being trained to detect, Director of Police Services, Jean-Michel Sungai Balang. Two suspects were detained. investigate and act against illegal trade. Louboutin. “The number of illegal wildlife shipments being The New Straits Times (Malaysia): www.nst.com.my/ seized shows that authorities throughout South- www.asean-wen.org/index.php?option=com_content&view Current_News/NST/Sunday/NewsBreak/2008101922072 east Asia have stepped up their efforts to stop =article&id=75:major-wildlife-law-enforcement-actions- 1/Article/pppull_index_html; 19 October 2008; http:// souheast-asia-july-december-2008&catid=34:law- trafficking in protected species this year,” said Dr asean-wen.org/index.php?option=com_content&view= enforcement-actions&Itemid=86; Interpol media release, article&id=75:major-wildlife-law-enforcement-actions- Chumphon Suckaseam, Senior Officer for the 24 March 2009: www.interpol.int/Public/ICPO/PressRe- souheast-asia-july-december-2008&catid=34:law- ASEAN-WEN Program Co-ordination Unit (the leases/PR2009/PR200925.asp enforcement-actions&Itemid=86

78 TRAFFIC Bulletin Vol. 22 No. 2 (2009)