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#1
05-11-2013, 02:16 AM
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Looking around a bit more I find this...do smugglers like Manchester or is this part of the same story? This one is from Apr 2010.
http://www.manchestereveningnews.co....-foiled-939711 Coral smugglers foiled 18 Apr 2010 07:30 A BID to smuggle a £50,000 haul of endangered coral through Manchester Airport has been foiled by customs. The massive consignment of 350 live corals and clams had been sent from Indonesia via Malaysia and included scores of rare corals which are banned from importation into the European Union. Share on print Share on email  View gallery
Coral smugglers foiled View gallery A BID to smuggle a £50,000 haul of endangered coral through Manchester Airport has been foiled by customs. The massive consignment of 350 live corals and clams had been sent from Indonesia via Malaysia and included scores of rare corals which are banned from importation into the European Union. The swoop is the UK's largest ever live coral seizure, according to Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC). All hard corals and giant clams are strictly regulated by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species. The discovery was made in September but details were kept under wraps while customs chiefs investigated. It is understood the shipment was bound for shops which had pre-ordered the coral freight from a specialist wholesaler. One wholesaler and six marine life traders, including some in Manchester and Cheshire, have been visited by HMRC and issued official warnings for their involvement in the consignment. Nothing else untoward was discovered on any of the premises and any involvement in future illegal imports will leave the companies open to prosecution, HMRC explained. Experts were called in to identify separate types in the haul, which included the banned-from-trade atalaphyllia jardinei, trachyphyllia geoffroyi and species from the genera plerogyra. They were shipped among a number of legal sea creatures. Most of the clams and coral survived and have gone to the aquarium at London Zoo, where there are tanks big enough to accommodate them. Charles Mackay, Head of the HMRC Specialist CITES Team, said: "The vast majority of the aquarium import trade is carried out quite legitimately, however this was quite clearly a blatant attempt to smuggle banned and unlicensed corals into the UK in order to profit from the higher prices they would fetch." HMRC Head of Detection North West, Linda Paul said: "The illicit trade in endangered animals is one of the most serious global problems of our time. Not only does this crime endanger our planet, but it could mean that some animals disappear for ever." Brian Zimmerman, head keeper at London Zoo, said it was `disheartening' that people chose to ignore laws that ensured `the survival of the very species they claim to admire'. The investigation continues. 
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#2
05-11-2013, 04:44 AM
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Collectors have no respect for preservation
A few years ago several Vietnamese were stopped at US customs in San Francisco airport and were found to have secreted over $10000 worth of SW fish and coral on their persons customs became suspicious when they heard water sloshing under a baby's coat and discovered 3 fish tied to the babies body. Smugglers know no boundaries
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 My aquarium is nothing but a smorgasbord for my cats.....
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