1.6 Tons of Suspected Pangolin Scales Seized

in Animal News

The link below is in Chinese; the following is the English translation.

Border forces in Zhongshan, Guangdong Province, intercepted and seized a shipment of 1.6 tons of suspected pangolin scales at the mouth of the Pearl River, worth around 12.8 million RMB. According to reports, at 10:00PM on April 10, the border received a tip-off that someone was smuggling items on a speedboat, and so dispatched a rapid response team to the area to intercept the shipment. At 23.55h, the team noticed a suspicious boat and raised the alarm, revealed their identity to the boat in question and sent a speedboat to conduct an inspection. On noticing the border force, the suspicious vessel sped up in an attempt to escape, but the border officers gave chase and eventually cornered the boat by a river sluice. Having failed to escape, the driver of the boat turned around and eventually jumped into the water about 30 meters from the shore. Border force officers caught up with the boat, and also jumped into the water to continue their pursuit of the suspect. After around 20 minutes, they arrested one person who was suspected of smuggling. Inspections revealed woven bags stacked in the hold of the boat, all of which were filled with pangolin scales. The scales have been handed over to the Zhongshan City Customs Anti-Smuggling Department.

Link: Southern Daily

Read the next article

Born Free Laments Zambia's Lion Hunting Quota