Hong Kong customs seizes 92 tonnes of endangered rosewood

Customs officers have smashed the city's biggest illegal wood-smuggling case in a decade, seizing some 92 tonnes of an endangered species commonly known as Honduras rosewood.

The haul, revealed yesterday, was worth HK$3 million and was found in four cargo containers which arrived in the city from Guatemala via Mexico. A husband, 52, and wife, 54, from Tuen Mun have been arrested but no one has yet been charged.

The announcement - which comes exactly a week after customs announced its biggest ever seizure of methamphetamine - again puts the spotlight on the city's role as a transshipment centre for a range of contraband.

While timber may make for an unlikely cargo for smugglers, the increasing scarcity of some species make it a profitable venture. Rosewood is a popular choice for high-end furniture and flooring in Hong Kong and the mainland, but the number of trees has declined markedly and trade in some species is restricted under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.

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Customs divisional commander Wong Wai-hung said the bust on November 26 was the result of a "risk assessment" on the shipment. After the seizure, officers traced the origins of the consignment and the companies involved, leading them to a trading company run by the couple.