Gongbei Customs said in a statement on Saturday that its officers have recently intercepted a mainland woman at Zhuhai’s Gongbei checkpoint, as they found she was carrying 19 live turtles in the plastic carrier bags she was carrying when she entered Zhuhai from Macau 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 20.
The 19 terrapins found in white mesh bags inside two plastic carrier bags she was carrying were of various sizes, and they were confirmed to be 16 Tabasco mud turtles (Kinosternon acutum), two white-lipped mud turtles (Kinosternon leucostomum) and one Vallarta mud turtle (Kinosternon chimalhuaca), which are endangered species, the statement said.
According to the statement, the turtles are listed in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), and the Gongbei customs will transfer the turtles to the Zhuhai agriculture authorities.
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 turtles from Macau to the mainland.
This undated handout photo provided by the Gongbei Customs on Saturday shows the 19 smuggled endangered terrapins.
