Police file additional charges vs black coral smuggler

MANILA, Philippines -  Police yesterday filed additional charges against Olivia Lim Li, one of the suspected smugglers of endangered marine species.

This developed after the police seized a large quantity of black and red corals at a warehouse in Zamboanga City late Saturday.

Zamboanga City police director Superintendent Edwin de Ocampo said the seized corals, which could fill ten 20-foot container vans, came from a warehouse in Sitio Pasay in Barangay San Roque allegedly rented by Lim Li.

He added there are others who have been invited for questioning by the police regarding the cargo.

De Ocampo said the corals were apparently part of the illegal cargo of marine species worth P35 million seized in Port Area, Manila last month.

He said the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) were informed of a large shipment of endangered species stored in the warehouse.

“When we got to the area, the black corals were already outside the warehouse, apparently they were ready to be shipped off or transferred somewhere else… it’s a good thing that we were able to arrive on time,” he said.

Police learned the suspects were trying to transfer the illegal cargo to another warehouse to evade the search.

Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo said police and BFAR representatives have already secured the area to prevent tampering of the seized evidence.

“We are working with BFAR to determine where the corals were extracted. Initially, (they were taken from) Basilan and Tawi-Tawi. Enforcement must be done at the source to avert further losses and damage,” Robredo said.

Li was among the four people involved in the illegal shipment of exotic marine species in the country.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has placed Li on its watchlist order after they were linked to the illegal shipment of P35-million worth of black corals and other endangered marine species to China.

Apart from Li, the others facing investigation are Exequiel Navarro, the alleged consignee of the illegal shipment; Kim Atillano, owner of the Zamboanga-based JKA Transport System; and Ireneo Penuliar, also of JKA.

They were named the subjects of an ongoing investigation after they were linked to the seizure of a large shipment of sea turtles, black corals and other endangered marine species by the Bureau of Customs (BOC) at the South Harbor in Manila last month.

The seized shipment was declared as raw rubber but actually contained a total of 163 stuffed hawksbill and green turtles (pawikan); 21,169 pieces of black corals; 7,340 pieces of trumpet and helmet shells and 196 kilos of sea whips – all threatened species.

The BOC filed charges against the four, accusing them of violating the Fisheries Code of the Philippines, relative to the ban on coral exploitation and exportation; and the Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Act of 2001.

The seizure also prompted the Senate to conduct an investigation on the extent of the illegal exportation of endangered marine species in the country. – With Roel Pareño