Guest guest Posted December 30, 2002 Report Share Posted December 30, 2002 ***************************Advertisement*************************** eCentral - Your Entertainment Guide http://www.star-ecentral.com ***************************************************************** This message was forwarded to you by yitzeling. Comment from sender: This article is from thestar.com.my URL: http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2002/12/24/features/hidestuff & se\ c=features ________________________ Tuesday, December 24, 2002 Illegal shipments from the wild By MARY PEMBERTON WILDLIFE inspectors at Alaska & #8217;s largest airport have seen it all, from the traveller who tried to hide a monkey under her big hat to the woman who had a bear gall bladder stuffed in her bra. “I & #8217;ve almost become numb, & #8217; & #8217; said Chris Andrews, one of Alaska & #8217;s three US Fish and Wildlife inspection officers assigned to Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport. “When I see a monkey-skull ashtray I say, & #8216;Oh, another monkey-skull ashtray. & #8217; “ The Anchorage airport, a hub for flights to Russia and the Far East, is the biggest cargo airport in the United States and ranks sixth nationwide for wildlife shipments, processing 6,648 of them in the last fiscal year. Andrews and his two colleagues typically check about 65 shipments each day and make about one seizure _ probably a small fraction of the illegal wildlife that is getting through. Many of the contraband items are folk remedies and other exotica from Asia. The items seized are illegal outright or require permits to possess. Andrews said most travelers do not realise they are breaking the law, but plenty of other violators know it. Penalties range from confiscation of the illegal item to a US$100,000 (RM380,000) fine and a year in jail. Some of the airport contraband is on display in a glass case outside Andrews & #8217; office. Among the curiosities: a woman & #8217;s leopard coat from Taiwan, a crocodile-head purse from Southeast Asia and a guitar from Mexico made from the shell of a sea turtle. Andrews pulls a cardboard box from under his desk and holds up two bottles filled with a pale yellow liquid. One has a cobra coiled in the bottom, from Vietnam. The other has two decomposing iguanas and is from China. The “wine & #8217; & #8217; is a popular novelty item with tourists. “The tequila worm I can handle, but this is awful, & #8217; & #8217; customs officer Sue Gadomski said as she shrank from the bottles on Andrews & #8217; desk. Gadomski works closely with Andrews and his colleagues. Inspection officer Mike Kiehn pulls a stuffed cobra, poised as if ready to strike, off a top shelf. The item was taken from a tourist coming from Thailand. “When the animal is killed, the venom becomes solidified, but if you punctured yourself it could be lethal, & #8217; & #8217; Kiehn said. Inspectors have also confiscated monkey-skull ashtrays from Thailand, dried dog penises, boxes of sea coral, pool cues with inlaid ivory from African elephants, and vials of bear gall bladder extract, which is believed by some to relieve high blood pressure, impotence and rheumatism. Wildlife inspectors must be familiar with numerous laws and treaties protecting threatened or endangered species of flora and fauna. They receive a five-week training course at a federal installation in Glynco, Georgia, to help them identify what is legal and what isn & #8217;t. They take a two-hour course just to help identify the five types of ivory. Inspectors use an ultraviolet lamp to distinguish between ivory and plastic. Ivory will reflect the light; plastic will absorb it. Inspectors also look for false compartments and holes drilled in carry-on luggage. People have been known to drug birds with alcohol to keep them quiet and place them in the hidden compartments. The compartments are also a popular way of smuggling live reptiles from South-East Asia. An airport custodian once found a hummingbird stuffed in a pack of cigarettes. Kiehn said one of his favorite seizures was in 1995, when a woman traveling from Korea passed through customs wearing a very large hat. “The hat kind of went up and down and we looked, & #8217; & #8217; Kiehn said. There was a monkey underneath it. The animal found a home at a Southern California zoo. & #8211; AP<p> ________________________ Your one-stop information portal: The Star Online http://thestar.com.my http://biz.thestar.com.my http://classifieds.thestar.com.my http://cards.thestar.com.my http://search.thestar.com.my http://star-motoring.com http://star-space.com http://star-jobs.com http://star-ecentral.com http://star-techcentral.com 1995-2002 Star Publications (Malaysia) Bhd. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of Star Publications is prohibited. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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