ILLEGAL rhino products and medicines, including horns and hide, have been seized in raids across the territory after environmentalists accused the Government of inaction in curbing the trade. The raids on 58 Chinese medicine shops came in response to an Environmental Investigation Agency report that 59 out of 90 Chinese pharmacies it visited in Hong Kong sold rhino horn, hide or patent medicines. The haul - valued at $120,000 by the Agriculture and Fisheries Department (AFD), but put at three times that figure by the agency - included two horns and two scraps of horns, four kilograms of suspected rhino hide and more than 1,000 small packets of medicine claiming to contain rhino ingredients. Other products from endangered species, including tiger's penises, were also found during the operation. The Secretary for Economic Services, Gordon Siu Kwing-chue, said government departments would join in cracking down on the illegal trade. But the agency claimed the result of the crackdown was only the tip of the iceberg in the trade in rhino products and other endangered species. David Currey, executive director of the agency, said: ''We are very pleased to see that the AFD has acted on the information we gave but it simply does not have the resources to deal with this problem. ''The raids have verified everything we have been saying, and what is really needed now is a special task force to control the trade in endangered species in Hong Kong.'' Mr Siu said he had asked the police, the Customs and Excise Department and the AFD to work together to tackle the illegal trade. Mr Siu said: ''These are experienced organisations and I am confident that with a constant and combined effort they can crack down on the trade in endangered animals in Hong Kong.'' Frank Lau Sin-pang, assistant director of the AFD, said the police would be called in to help to stamp out the illegal trading if there was any evidence of triad involvement. ''We have stepped up our enforcement action in what seems to be a lucrative trade and if necessary we will involve other government agencies to help us enforce the law,'' he said. The trade in genuine or fake products of endangered species is illegal and the AFD says it intends to prosecute all shopkeepers netted in the raids. But with only 10 officers involved in enforcement duties covering a number of government departments, the AFD admitted that its ability to gather information on traders who were flouting the law was limited. The Environmental Investigation Agency fears that after the success of the raids the momentum of the fight to combat the illicit trade will be lost. Mr Currey said: ''The legislation against the trade in endangered species has been in place since 1989 but the AFD have only just started acting to enforce the law. ''Our concern is that if we go away the effort will lapse and Hong Kong will continue to trade in endangered species and act as a conduit for trade between China and Taiwan.'' But Mr Lau said the Government was committed to combatting the problem and that the enforcement momentum would be maintained. The agency has recommended that the 120-member Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species places mandatory sanctions against Hong Kong in March next year if the Government fails to put a stop to the illegal trade.
