Ussuri customs opened criminal case against a citizen of the Peoples’ Republic of China who had tried to carry out Amur tiger’s bones from Russia as was found by TSEKTU and the Amur Tiger Centre experts.
Undeclared fragments of bone split into 4 part for a total weight of 66 grams were found with a Chinese citizen moving from Russia to China during customs control at Markovo two-sided car check-point of the Lesozavodsk customs point. Bones were found in the clothes’ pockets of the Chinese citizen.
According to Vladivostok forensic service conclusion and experts of the Amur Tiger Centre, fragments of the bone belong to a single species of the Amur tiger. Due to this, they brought a criminal case against the Chinese citizen and launched an investigation. In case his guilt is proved, he may get 3-7 years in prison.
“It’s too early now to unveil details of detention for investigation safety is concerned. Nevertheless, I should mention that ‘small-scale’ smuggling, when people carry small amount of ‘forbidden items’, mostly for private use, is very hard to discover. This is the reason why I should mention good job of customs officers. Russian legislation prescribes serious punishment for smuggling. This is what smugglers should remember, as well as those, who assist them”- Sergey Aramilev, head of the Far East branch of the Amur Tiger Centre said.
We remind that there is a prescribed order of transporting parts of the Amur tiger bodies through the Customs Union borders. The Amur tiger (Panthera tigris altaika) is included in Annex 1 of CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora). Illegal transportation of outstanding wild animals and water natural resources through borders of the Eurasian Economic Union is liable to criminal sanctions according to the Criminal Code of Russia.