A driver of a Guangdong-Macau dual licence plated vehicle was sentenced for the offence of illegally introducing invasive alien species after smuggling 1,760 red-eared slider terrapins to the mainland, and given a nine-month prison term as well as fine of 100,000 yuan (113,730 patacas), according to a statement from the Intermediate People’s Court of Zhuhai posted on its official WeChat account yesterday.
According to the statement, the driver is a mainland man surnamed Yi.
The incident occurred in October 2022, when Yi was driving a vehicle to the mainland via the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge (HZMB) through Zhuhai Port (checkpoint), when a large number of live turtles was seized from the sunroof and sun visors, as well as hidden in the gap between the vehicle’s sunroof and sun visor, and a modified compartment under the armrest, which were identified as 1,760 red-eared slider terrapins, which have been listed by China as an invasive alien species.
The red-eared slider or red-eared terrapin is a subspecies of the pond slider, a semiaquatic turtle.
According to the statement, Gongbei Customs believes that the successful handling of the case will be a strong deterrent against related criminal activities, the statement said, highlighting that the case was the country’s first criminal case involving the illegal introduction of alien invasive species.
The statement also noted that from January to August, Gongbei Customs intercepted 31,000 cases of prohibited imported animals, plants and products, and detected about 26,000 species of harmful organisms, representing a year-on-year increase of 47 percent, and seized 2,450 alien species, representing a year-on-year increase of 5.1 times.
This undated handout photo provided by Gongbei Customs yesterday shows two of the smuggled red-eared sliders.
