Hong Kong customs seize smuggled lobsters amid Australia ban
HONG KONG: Hong Kong authorities said Tuesday (Nov 16) that they had seized more than 1,800kg of live lobsters and sea cucumbers believed to be bound for China, months after Beijing restricted imports of the crustaceans from Australia amid escalating tensions between the two countries.
Hong Kong Customs said in a statement that it had seized 890kg of live lobsters and 930kg of sea cucumbers, with a total estimated value of HK$10 million (US$1.3 million) during the operation on Monday.
Two men aged 40 and 45 suspected to be connected to the case were also arrested, the statement added. The seizures come after a recent surge in the import volume of Australian lobsters to Hong Kong following China’s imposition of an unofficial ban on imports late last year.
Related:
Lobsters are considered a delicacy in Chinese cuisine, and China had previously accounted for more than 90 per cent of Australia’s lobster exports.
The origin of the smuggled goods are still under investigation as the boxes seized were not labelled, according to Lui Siu-fai, the divisional commander of the customs’ Syndicate Crimes Investigation Bureau.
“I believe that most of the smuggled goods were (to be) shipped to China,” he said during a news conference Tuesday.
The customs' seizure of lobster comes weeks after a similar anti-smuggling operation in October saw authorities seize 5,300kg of Australian lobster worth about US$540,000 and arrest 13 people suspected to be connected to the case.
Officials said monthly imports of Australian lobster to Hong Kong have since more than doubled following the ban.
China’s lobster ban came after the Australian government pushed for an international investigation into the origins of the coronavirus.
China has since blocked trade on other Australian imports, such as wine, barley, cotton and coal.
