Man sentenced to three years' probation for smuggling endangered fish

Airline Industry Information, Oct 2, 2003

AIRLINE INDUSTRY INFORMATION-(C)1997-2003 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD

A 27-year-old man has been sentenced to six months in a half-way house for smuggling an endangered species of fish into Boston's Logan International Airport.

On 9 July 2002, wildlife inspectors and US Customs officials met with the man who was waiting to pick up a delivery of 16 live fish. The shipping documentation indicated that the fish were of a type that is not protected, however the fish were found to be Asian Arowana fish which are valued at between USD500 and USD10,000 on the black market. The man did not possess any of the required permits to import the fish. He later admitted that he knew the fish were endangered and that he was planning to sell them.

The man - who was also stopped at the US-Canadian border in December 2002, attempting to enter the US with nine Arowanas - was sentenced to three years' probation, the first six months to be spent in a community confinement facility, and also fined USD2,000.

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