In the luggage of a Pole returning from the Maldives, Mazovian customs officers found fragments of a coral reef. The man’s case will be dealt with in court, because the corals are under strict protection.
According to Justyna Pasieczyńska, spokeswoman for the Tax Administration Chamber in Warsaw, two fragments of the coral reef were found by customs officers in one of the luggage at Chopin Airport.
“Bought in one of the shops in the Maldives”
– Raf was transported by a 30-year-old Pole returning from vacation, he explained that he bought it in one of the shops in the Maldives. He did not know that reef-forming corals are under protection and that their import without appropriate documents is prohibited, Pasieczyńska informed. She added that the fragments had been secured. The court will decide on the penalty for a 30-year-old.
Pasieczyńska emphasized that destructive human activity, environmental pollution and climate change, as well as the development of tourism constitute a huge threat to the reef. – Corals are dying and the associated ecosystems also cease to exist. For this reason, reef-forming corals are strictly protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, also known as the Washington CITES Convention, reminded the IAS spokeswoman in Warsaw.
Customs officers from Warsaw seized 32 kilograms of frozen meat at the airportIAS in Warsaw
Main photo source: IAS in Warsaw