Airport customs official seize 3,500 cobras

TANGERANG (JP): Customs and excise officials at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport foiled an attempt on Saturday to smuggle a shipment of 3,500 cobras, weighing a total of two tons, to Guangzhou, China, an official said.

Head of the airport's customs and excise office Heru Santoso told a news conference a few hours after the seizure that no one had been arrested.

A man identified as Anton, who was listed as sender of the air freight, has been questioned.

The snakes, which have an estimated value of around Rp 300 million (US$36,000) in China, were discovered on Saturday afternoon in 140 boxes by customs officials, and those from the airport's animal quarantine center, Heru said.

The boxes were kept in the airport's storage room for two days and were about to be loaded on board a China Southern Airlines flight CZ-388 to China, he added.

"The freight was stamped with 'fresh fish' labels but when we checked it, each of the 140 boxes contained 25 cobras," Heru explained.

When asked further about Anton's status, he said: "We're not sure whether he is the cargo's sender or owner and he is being further questioned by the police."

Cobras sell locally for between Rp 5,000 and Rp 10,000 each depending on size.

The vast difference in prices has tempted many people to smuggle the reptile abroad.

Besides being served for meals, cobras can be used for other things, such as their skin for leather products and their blood and poison for medicines.

According to the head of the quarantine center, Lukas A. Tonga, the snake is a protected species here and its exportation and trade are forbidden under Law No.5/1990 on Natural Resources and Ecosystem Conservation and Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna.

The species is also regulated under Law No.16/1992 for fish, animal and plant quarantine.

"Violators could face a maximum sentence of five years in prison plus a Rp 100 million fine," Lukas added.

The cobras were transferred on Saturday to quarantine for temporary care.

Lukas said his men also confiscated 1,020 cobras in July last year.

XXX VCDs

During the weekend media briefing, Heru also discussed the work of airport customs officials over the past six months.

From April to September, the office uncovered smuggling attempts to import 263,948 illegal compact discs (CDs) and video compact discs (VCDs) worth a total of Rp 766.99 billion.

Heru, however, gave no details on the countries of origin, the dates or the number of suspects arrested.

One of the latest success stories of the office, he said, was on Aug. 20 when his men seized some 65,000 pornographic VCDs plus 9,000 illegal VCDs wrapped in plastic bags packed in cardboard boxes.

The freight reportedly belonged to Surabaya-based firm CV Sinar Surya Genting, Heru said.

The cargo was put in 80 pieces of luggage weighing a total of 1,995 kilograms to be transported by Malaysian Airlines flight MH 771.

On the freight documents, the sender claimed the contents were "computer devices", Heru said.

After being left unclaimed at the airport for over a month, the customs officials opened it and found the illegal products inside, he said.

In terms of copy rights, the smuggling attempt represented some Rp 3.65 billion in losses, Heru said.

All of the confiscated items have been transferred to the police as evidence.

According to Law No. 12/1997 on Copy Rights, illegal importers can be imprisoned for seven years and fined Rp 100 million.

"The case is being handled by Soekarno-Hatta Airport Police in cooperation with the Association of Motion Pictures," Heru said. (41/edt)