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Old 11-03-2005, 10:50 PM
kathy
 
Posts: n/a
Default transporting fish in your luggage

(this site required registration so I'm
just pasting the whole story here)

Man found with endangered fish in luggage
Associated Press
MELBOURNE, Australia - Customs officers thought there was something
fishy about the baggage of a flight attendant arriving in Australia
from Vietnam. They were right.

The man, whose identity was not released, was found to have 16 highly
endangered Asian Arowana fish in water-filled plastic bags hidden in
his luggage, customs officials said Friday.

The 26-year-old flight attendant just got off a plane from Vietnam at
Melbourne International airport when customs officers spotted something
unusual in an X-ray and decided to search his bags, regional customs
manager Geoff Johannes said in a statement.

The man faces a maximum sentence of 10 years imprisonment and a fine of
up to $87,000 if convicted of smuggling wildlife into Australia.
Johannes said officials expect to charge him once they have finished
their investigations.

"The fish found by customs are listed ... as being highly endangered,"
Johannes said. "In addition to the protection of endangered species,
the fish could have been carrying diseases."

Australia has some of the world's toughest quarantine laws, to protect
its unique flora and fauna from imported diseases.