Gongbei Customs said in a statement yesterday that its officers have recently intercepted a mainland woman at Zhuhai’s Gongbei checkpoint, as they found she was carrying 27 live hermit crabs in her handbag when entering Zhuhai through the “nothing to declare” channel.
According to the statement, customs officers intercepted the woman acting suspiciously while walking past the X-ray machine for baggage inspection on June 5.
The 27 live crabs found in white-coloured mesh bags in her handbag were confirmed to be Coenobita clypeatus, also known as Caribbean hermit crabs, the statement said.
According to the statement, the live hermit crabs are Caribbean hermit crabs, mostly distributed in the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean. They are large in size, with a maximum body length of more than seven centimetres, a large, purple left claw, and a reddish, peach-coloured body. They are regarded as an alien species in China.
Gongbei Customs stressed that carrying or mailing alien species and their products to the mainland must be approved by the relevant administrative department in advance. 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 not reveal the purpose of smuggling the crabs from Macau to the mainland.
This undated handout photo provided by Gongbei Customs yesterday shows some of the 27 live hermit crabs smuggled from Macau to Zhuhai via Gongbei checkpoint earlier this month.
