Airports Customs authorities last week collared a Taiwanese tourist for trying to smuggle 254 pieces of live corals to Taipei.
Customs District Collector Carmelita Talusan said the soft and hard live corals, approximately weighing 39 kilograms, was found among the passengers personal belongings inside the two pieces of luggage.
Talusan did not identify the suspect as the investigation is trying to trace the source of the corrals, believed to be local “persons of interests.”
The suspect admitted upon interrogation that he purchased the marine animals for $15,000 or about P788,000.
However, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) said the price seems undervalued “since, the live corals are still subject to verification and appraisal.”
Talusan said exportation of corals without necessary permits violates provisions of Republic Act 10863, or Customs Modernization and Tariff Act, in relation to RA 10654, or the Ban on Coral Exploitation and Exportation.
“Corral exploitation endangers the Philippine endemic species of corals or precious and semi-precious corals that exist only in the Philippine marine waters,” Talusan said. Punishment for violators is 10 years to 20 years imprisonment “and a fine and forfeiture of the subject coral.”
Investigation showed the foreigner arrived in Manila with practically empty pieces of luggage, except his passports and some cash.
The tourist was under surveillance for 15 days, Talusan said, quoting some Customs agents.
The Office for Transportation Security at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 questioned the suspect about the contents of his luggage after suspicions were aroused by the x-ray images.
The passenger was later endorsed to the Customs examiners, who opened the luggage and found out the corrals that the suspect was trying to ship out to Taiwan.
“The latest expensive craze among hobbyists is not simply to take care of colorful tropical fishes in their aquarium but also to maintain a live corral colony. It requires close monitoring of the water’s purity and also adding the necessary saline solution, which is a time-consuming and expensive process,” according to a BFAR official, who asked not to be named because he is not part of the team that arrested the suspect.