This photo taken on Nov 24, 2023 shows the dried shark fins seized from a 35-year-old male passenger who arrived at the Hong Kong International Airport from Brazil via Ethiopia. (PHOTO / HKSAR GOVERNMENT)

HONG KONG – For the second straight day, Hong Kong Customs detected on Friday a suspected smuggling case at the airport involving dried shark fins worth around HK$1.3 million ($167,000).

Customs officers confiscated 450 kilograms of dried shark fins from a 35-year-old male passenger who arrived at the Hong Kong International Airport from Brazil via Ethiopia, according to a Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government statement.

On Thursday, a 38-year-old female passenger who arrived at the airport from Brazil via Ethiopia was also caught with HK$1.3 million worth of dried shark fins

On Thursday, a 38-year-old female passenger who arrived at the airport from Brazil via Ethiopia was also caught with HK$1.3 million worth of dried shark fins.

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According to the statement the male passenger presented an image of a Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora document to Customs officers.

Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department officers later confirmed that the documents were invalid.

AFCD officers also determined that some of the dried shark fins in the male suspect’s 15 pieces of check-in baggage were from endangered species listed in CITES Appendix II and regulated under the Protection of Endangered Species of Animals and Plants Ordinance.

“It was discovered in both cases that crime syndicates not only attempted to use forged or invalid documents, but also deliberately sourced dried shark fins that were yet to be regulated and mixed them with the scheduled ones in order to evade detection,” the statement reads.

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The HKSAR government had gazetted an amendment to the Ordinance to bring more shark species under the Ordinance's coverage from December 15, 2023 onwards.

Under the Ordinance, any person found guilty of importing or exporting an endangered species without a license is liable to a maximum fine of HK$10 million and imprisonment for 10 years.