Gongbei Customs said in a statement yesterday that its officers recently intercepted a woman at Zhuhai’s Gongbei checkpoint last month, as they found she was carrying 18 live beetles in her handbag when entering Zhuhai through the “nothing to declare” channel.
According to the statement, customs officers intercepted a woman who had acted suspiciously while walking past the X-ray machine for baggage inspection on May 31.
The statement did not reveal the nationality or residency status of the woman.
The 18 live beetles found in her handbag were 10 Odontolabis vollenhoveni and eight Odontolabis dalmanni, all wrapped in two transparent sealed bags, each containing several live beetles bound with white tape, the statement said.
The two species are mainly found in Southeast Asia, and they are regarded as an alien species in China, the statement said.
According to Wikipedia, Odontolabis, scientifically known as a genus of beetles belonging to the family Lucanidae, comprises 61 recognised species.
Gongbei Customs stressed that carrying or mailing alien species and their products to the mainland must be approved by the relevant administrative department. Their owners must hold an import certificate and take the initiative to declare the animals to customs officers, as otherwise the border crossers face legal action by the judicial authorities.
The statement did no reveal the purpose of smuggling the beetles from Macau to the mainland.
This undated handout photo provided by Gongbei Customs yesterday shows some of the live beetles smuggled from Macau to Zhuhai via Gongbei checkpoint last month.
