Hong Kong customs officials net shipment of nearly 8,000 hairy crabs, pinch driver on suspicion of smuggling
- The record haul of the delicacy was seized along with nearly eight tonnes of suspected smuggled frozen food
- Hairy crabs are in season from late September to November, with the latest bust coming on the heels of two similar ones in recent weeks
Hong Kong customs has confiscated nearly 8,000 hairy crabs and arrested one person on suspicion of smuggling at a border checkpoint in a record seizure of the popular delicacy.
The stock of 7,700 crustaceans, famed for their roe, was intercepted along with some 7.7 tonnes of suspected smuggled frozen food with a total estimated market value of HK$1.2 million (US$153,850) in a joint operation with the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department at Man Kam To Control Point last Thursday.
The haul of undeclared crabs, worth about HK$600,000 on their own, was carried to the checkpoint by a goods vehicle from mainland China, and was detected by customs officers during an inspection.
The 50-year-old male driver was arrested.
The crustaceans, which are in season from late September to November, were also found to have carried no health certificates from the relevant authorities of the exporting economies, as required under the Shell Fish (Hairy Crab) Permit, customs said.
The hairy crab seizure was the biggest of its kind in terms of both quantity and weight, the department said.
Importers have been required to apply for a permit for hairy crabs since 2018, after the creatures, usually brought into the city from the mainland or Taiwan, were found to have almost double the accepted levels of dioxins and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls the previous year.
The compounds are known to cause cancer and damage the reproductive and immune systems.
Pincer operation: hairy crab import plan scuttled after 730kg of Hong Kong delicacy seized
The frozen food seized alongside the crabs – comprising meat, poultry and seafood – also had neither health certificates issued by the authorities of the place of origin nor prior permission in writing from Hong Kong.
Last month, Hong Kong authorities at the Shenzhen Bay border checkpoint seized a batch of more than 4,500 hairy crabs, weighing some 730kg, that had also been imported without health certificates.
Another batch of 5,200 non-certified hairy crabs weighing some 1,000kg was also confiscated at Shenzhen Bay Port last week.
Under the law, anyone convicted of selling food unfit for human consumption could be subject to a maximum fine of HK$50,000 and a prison term of up to six months.
Anyone convicted of smuggling faces a fine of as much as HK$2 million and up to seven years’ jail.
