Tons of smuggled black corals, shells seized in Zambo City
05-Jun-11, 3:46 PM
MANILA, Philippines -- Tons of smuggled black corals and shells -- said to fit around 10 20-foot container vans -- were seized in a raid by authorities in Zamboanga City Saturday night, the city police chief said Sunday.
Senior Superintendent Edwin de Ocampo said the smuggled black corals were seized in a warehouse at Barangay San Roque owned by a certain Olivia Lee, a Filipino-Chinese businesswoman. Authorities from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources and local police swooped down on the warehouse at around 9 p.m. following information received that smuggled black corals from Tawi-Tawi and Basilan were being stored there.
"When we arrived in the area, the black corals were already outside the warehouse. They must have sensed that we were coming and they were planning to move them to another place," de Ocampo told reporters.
Some personnel from the warehouse were also invited for questioning.
Zamboanga City served as a "buying station" of the smuggled black corals and shells, de Ocampo said.
"Pero sa Tawi-tawi at Basilan nakukuha ang mga yan (But those were taken from Tawi-tawi and Basilan). They sell it per kilo and depending on the size," he added.
BFAR and local authorities have stepped up their information campaign at the grassroots level to inform the public that buying black corals is illegal.
Experts have earlier said the extent of the damage of coral reefs off the Philippine islands was five times the size of Metro Manila.
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