Hong Kong Zhuhai Macau Bridge customs seized endangered species of agarwood

Hong Kong Zhuhai Macau Bridge customs seized endangered species of agarwood, photographed by Lin Changfeng

Recently, the Hong Kong Zhuhai Macao Bridge Customs under Gongbei Customs seized a case of passengers smuggling endangered species of agarwood into the country.

At around 18:00 on the same day, customs officers were conducting supervision at the Zhuhai Hong Kong Immigration and Travel Inspection Hall of the Hong Kong Zhuhai Macao Bridge Zhuhai Highway Port. They discovered that a passenger who chose the "green channel" for customs clearance had abnormal machine inspection images of their luggage, and therefore intercepted and inspected them. After further inspection, customs officers found a batch of wood in the passenger's backpack, with a total weight of 667 grams. This batch of wood material is compact and emits a special aroma, and it is preliminarily suspected to be an endangered species of agarwood. The passenger is unable to provide legal proof documents and admits to charging labor fees.

On March 12th, after appraisal by the Gongbei Customs Technical Center, the batch of wood belongs to the Aquilaria genus of the Rosaceae family. All species of agarwood are listed in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and are classified as second-class protected wild plants in China.

Customs reminder: According to relevant laws and regulations, except for legally holding import and export certificates for wildlife and plants, it is prohibited to bring endangered species and their products into and out of the country. If the circumstances are serious enough to constitute a crime, criminal responsibility will be pursued in accordance with the law. (Written by Yang Yueqi)