Shipment of rare coral seized at airport (Bangkok Post - Thailand's English news)

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Shipment of rare coral seized at airport

SAMUT PRAKAN : Customs officials have seized 300kg of live coral with a face value of over 2 million baht at Suvarnabhumi airport.

Officers yesterday checked all imported goods and seized a shipment of 858 pieces of coral at the Thai Airways International warehouse.

Authorities had received a tip that endangered coral had been smuggled from Indonesia into the country on THAI flight TG432 and was being kept as cargo at the airport.

The coral, protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites), was found in 38 boxes.

It was imported by Siriporn Phoo-um, a native of Bang Talad district in Kalasin, who falsely declared the imported goods as "beautiful sea animals", the Customs Department said.

The woman will face charges for smuggling endangered marine life into the country and giving false details about the imported items.