Discover 3.3 tons of pangolin scales in the shipment of cashew

Tens of bags containing pangolin scales were hidden in cashew shipment

On 3/5, at Cat Lai port, Saigon port area 1, Customs Branch coordinated with other competent authorities to conduct an inspection for an import shipment of cashew. They discovered inside, pangolin scales hidden in 87 bags.

The above shipment was implemented with procedures and opened customs declaration of independent goods transport of cashew for transit to Cambodia.

Through supervision, as well as intelligence gathering and learning from experience of smuggling cases of the illegal transport of goods made from wild animals, discovered at Cat Lai port from 10/2016 until now, Saigon port area 1 Customs Branch proactively checked and detected the above shipment with suspicious signs. Then they supervised strictly when the shipment arrived.

Through the inspection, Saigon port area 1 Customs detected 87 bags containing pangolin scales, weighing 3.3 tons.

Remarkably, in this shipment, the subjects used the same bags that were used for packaging cashew in order to wrap and cover pangolin scales. Then it was hidden at the end of the container for avoiding the detection of the authorities.

This is the second shipment of pangolin scales discovered in the past week. Earlier, on 27/4, at Cat Lai port, Saigon port area 1 Customs Branch (HCM City Customs Department) in coordination with the Customs Enforcement Unit, Unit 3- Anti-smuggling and Investigation Department (General Department of Vietnam Customs), PC46 (Ho Chi Minh City Police) and Border Defense force searched and seized nearly 3.8 tons of pangolin scales in an imported wood shipment. The consignee was Thien Phuoc Duc Limited Company (50 Nguyen Trai Street, Phuoc Thien Quarter, Tan Thien Ward, Dong Xoai Town, Binh Phuoc Province).

The case is being investigated and verified for clarification.

Some pictures of shipment inspection:

Transit container of cashew

But many bags of pangolin scales were hidden inside container

checking bags of pangolin scales

Tons of pangolin scales were discovered

Each bag contained 40kg - 50kg of pangolin scales