Employees of the Border Department of the Federal Security Service of Russia in the Primorsky Krai detained Chinese citizens for storing and attempting to move pieces of red books and plants across the Russian-Chinese border. Specialists of the Amur Tiger Center assisted in the examination.
The first case occurred at the end of December 2015 at the border checkpoint "Border - Automobile". During the registration of an international bus, which followed the route of Pogranichny to Suifenhe, border guards discovered a part of an animal’s body that was prohibited for exportation from Russia of a Chinese citizen.
To determine the species of the animal’s body parts, all the items taken were sent for examination to specialists of the Amur Tiger Center. It was established that among them was the claw of an Amur tiger, which the violator transported in a pack from under the cigarettes, as well as a bracelet made of fragments of bones of phalanxes of a rare animal — his violator put on his hand during transportation. Thus, the intruder hoped to freely smuggle tiger body parts across the Russian-Chinese border.
On December 25, 2015, the Border Department of the Federal Security Service of Russia in the Primorsky Krai against a citizen of the People's Republic of China initiated a criminal case under Part 3 of Article 30 and Part 1 of Article 266.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (attempted smuggling of strategic goods and resources). Taking into account the inflation coefficient, the damage caused to the state by the removal of one individual of the Amur tiger is estimated by experts at 1,680,000 rubles.
During the investigation of this criminal case, several more bones were found in the private house of the suspect in the city of Ussuriysk. Specialists of the Amur Tiger Center found that the remains found (two thoracic vertebrae and three ribs) belong to the Amur tiger.
“While it is impossible to determine how many individuals belong to the seized parts of the body of the Amur tiger, but it is very likely to say that the parts of the body belong to the tiger or tigers, who did not become victims of poachers in 2015, but somewhat earlier. Given the fact that the bones of the tiger were found in the intruder, both when attempting to move across the border, and at his place of residence, it can be assumed that he is not a random person in this matter. Apparently, he has long been engaged in such things. We hope that during the investigation these circumstances will be established, and it is also clarified where he bought parts of the Amur tiger body and for what purposes,” commented Sergey Aramilev, director of the Amur Tiger Center Primorsky branch.
Persons who smuggle highly valuable and rare animal and plant species are regularly responsible. Thus, it was not possible to avoid responsibility of a citizen of the People's Republic of China, who on October 11, 2015 tried to take out international goods by bus from Ussuriysk to Dunin: prohibited 41 ginseng roots with a total weight of 540 grams and 2 bear fangs.
The cost of the seized cargo was estimated by experts of the Amur Tiger Center at 1 million 481 thousand rubles. On January 27, a foreign citizen was sentenced to part 1 by the Oktyabrsky District Court of Primorsky Region. st. 226.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation to 3 years in prison for smuggling of strategically important goods and resources.
“Regular convictions against smugglers with real terms of punishment should be a warning to those who are engaged in business“ on blood ”or are thinking of doing it,” concluded Sergey Aramilev.
According to the press group of the Frontier Department of the FSB of Russia in the Primorsky Krai