Hong Kong customs arrests suspected smugglers of pricey pets, seizes pedigree kittens and puppies
- Three kittens and two puppies worth HK$220,000 seized in customs sting operation in Sha Tau Kok restricted border area
- Mainland Chinese woman, 61, and Hong Kong man, 47, arrested on suspicion of importing animals without a permit
A senior customs official said three kittens and two puppies, smuggled from mainland China, were found in the city’s restricted border area of Sha Tau Kok in the early hours of Friday and that two people had been arrested.
The kitten breeds were a munchkin, a chinchilla, a type of Persian cat, and a British shorthair. The puppies were a border collie and a miniature pinscher.
“All of the kittens and puppies are expensive breeds and they could each fetch between HK$30,000 and HK$60,000 locally,” said Chang Man-kit, an assistant superintendent of the customs syndicate crimes investigation bureau.
The two suspects, a 61-year-old mainland woman and a 47-year-old Hong Kong man, were detained on suspicion of importing animals without a permit.
The pair were still being questioned on Friday afternoon.
Customs officers spotted the woman crossing the street from the mainland side at about 12.15am on Friday. She handed a nylon bag to a man outside a ground floor flat on the Hong Kong side and they both entered the building.
Chang said officers suspected the bag contained animals and the customs team raided a flat in the block.
“Inside the flat, one of the puppies was discovered in a mesh laundry bag and the other dog in a crate at one corner of the flat,” Chang said. “The three kittens were found in two crates in the toilet.”
He added the animals appeared to be in good health and that they were now in the care of the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department.
Chang said preliminary investigations suggested the animals were intended for online buyers in Hong Kong.
He added similar breeds could be bought online for several thousand Hong Kong dollars each from the mainland.
Chang said the mainland woman appeared to be responsible for smuggling the pets across the border and the man kept them in the flat before making deliveries to buyers.
He added an animal smuggling syndicate was thought to be behind the illegal delivery of the pets and that more arrests were possible as the investigation continued.
Authorities detected at least three high-profile cross-border smuggling cases involving puppies and kittens last year.
Customs and police officers confiscated 75 pedigree kittens and puppies worth HK$1.2 million in total as smugglers attempted to bring them into the mainland in October last year.
A source at the time said the pets were destined for the Shekou area of Shenzhen in Guangdong province for breeding.
The city’s largest seizure of pets was made in another joint anti-smuggling operation by police and customs in August last year.
Officers found 101 kittens and 35 puppies, shipped from the mainland, on board a speedboat intercepted in northwestern waters.
A 30-year-old man on the vessel was arrested on suspicion of importing unmanifested cargo, animal cruelty and endangering the safety of others at sea.
Another haul of pedigree animals, comprising 30 kittens and seven puppies, arriving from the mainland was seized in January last year.
Contraband including frozen bull penises and deer tails worth about HK$4.1 million were also found on board the boat, which was stopped in the Ha Pak Lai coastal area.
Importation of animals without a permit is punishable by up to a year in jail and a HK$50,000 fine under the Rabies Regulation.
