Zhuhai’s Gongbei Customs announced in a statement yesterday that its officers seized 75 terrapins at the Zhuhai checkpoint of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HZMB) on March 6.
According to the statement, on that day, customs officers at the delta bridge’s Zhuhai Port (checkpoint) noticed an anomaly in the X-ray image during a routine inspection of a single-plate vehicle from Hong Kong and intercepted it for further inspection.
Customs officers then discovered 75 live terrapins weighing a total of 21 kilograms, each concealed in a sock, under the driver and passenger seats, the statement said, adding that the driver was unable to provide any legal documentation and admitted to receiving a delivery fee for transporting the terrapins.
On March 9, the Technical Centre of Gongbei Customs identified the live terrapins as Kinosternon herrerai (aka Herrera’s mud turtle), which are listed under Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
The official conservation status of the species, which is endemic to Mexico, is “near-threatened” (NT).
Gongbei Customs reminded the public in the statement that, in accordance with relevant laws and regulations, it is prohibited to carry endangered species and their products into or out of the Chinese mainland without a valid wildlife import and export permit. Cases that are serious enough to constitute a crime will be subject to criminal liability in accordance with the law.
This pixelated photo provided by the Zhuhai’s Gongbei Customs yesterday show the smuggler pointing at the terrapins seized by Zhuhai customs officers on March 6.
