Hong Kong Seizes Endangered Animals in Two Smuggling Cases

Hong Kong customs officers have seized endangered turtles and parrots alongside other animals in two separate smuggling cases, resulting in the arrest of one woman. The Customs and Excise Department said on Saturday that 17 live turtles were discovered in a package declared as containing a jacket arriving at Hong Kong International Airport from the United States. “Upon inspection, a batch of live turtles of suspected scheduled endangered species was found concealed in socks,” it said. Customs estimated the market value of the turtles at about HK$102,000 (US$13,010). In a separate case on Friday, customs officers stopped a 21-year-old mainland Chinese woman arriving at the Lok Ma Chau Spur Line control point. A search revealed a rabbit, hamster, guinea pig, sugar glider and two parrots suspected to be endangered species in a paper bag she was carrying and in a pocket of her trousers.