Indonesia foils attempt to smuggle its protected and precious seahorse species in Riau Islands
JAKARTA (Xinhua): Indonesia's Animal, Fish, and Plant Quarantine Centre in Riau Islands province thwarted an attempt to smuggle its precious and protected seahorse species, a senior official has announced.
The dried seahorses, weighing 20 kg in total, were concealed in snack packaging in four suitcases, according to Herwintarti, head of the centre.
The smuggled species were carried by a foreign national from Egypt, she noted.
"The suspect admitted to obtaining these seahorses through a transaction made via a trading group on Facebook," she said.
Investigations revealed that the seized seahorses belong to three protected species.
There is a great demand for these to make traditional Chinese traditional medicine.
All seahorses are now now classified as Grade II nationally protected species in China, but large shipments are smuggled in from South East Asia.
It is believed that seahorses have the potential to cure infertility, baldness, asthma and arthritis. - Xinhua
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