January 15, 2008	Tuesday	Muharram 05, 1429

KARACHI, Jan 14: An influential wildlife trafficker, who earlier managed to ‘import’ endangered animals without obtaining the mandatory permissions, has been caught trying once again to bring in another animal consignment without the necessary documents, reliable sources have informed Dawn.

Reportedly the importer, Osaka Traders, tried to obtain the required documents from the federal government which was reluctant to allow the application and grant permission because of the company’s earlier illegal animal ‘imports’. Instead of waiting for the government to issue permission, however, Osaka Traders went ahead and brought in the consignment.

After being held at the airport by the customs department because of the lack of mandatory permissions, the animal consignment was released early on Sunday when the required documents were received. However, sources added that the customs department has started a probe after suspecting that the value of the consignment was incorrectly declared.

An inquiry is already ongoing against Osaka Traders’ earlier ‘import’ of wildlife without proper documentation. The federal government has directed the Sindh government to complete within a couple of weeks its inquiries into the earlier consignment and submit a report to the federal government.

Sources pointed out that the influence enjoyed by Osaka Traders could be gauged from the fact that it managed to obtain the necessary documents during the three or four days that the contraband consignment was being held at the Quaid-i-Azam International Airport. They added that the relevant regulating departments – the customs department, the Sindh Wildlife Department (SWD) and the federal government’s Islamabad-based National Council for the Conservation of Wildlife (NCCW) – appeared to be under pressure since they did not register a wildlife smuggling case against Osaka Traders when it tried to illegally ‘import’ the animals and instead gave the company time to obtain the required documents.

The sources told Dawn that on this occasion, the contraband consignment was stopped and the wildlife traffickers were forced to obtain the relevant permissions only because incidents of this sort of smuggling have been widely publicised by the media. Had this not been the case, they said, the smugglers would have succeeded once again in bringing in the consignment illegally. Reportedly, Osaka Traders tried to have the consignment released from the customs department but the officials had become cautious after media reports regarding animal trafficking and amendments of the relevant laws. This time, therefore, the traffickers’ efforts were foiled and they were directed to obtain the mandatory permissions. Meanwhile, an inquiry against Osaka Traders was already being conducted by the wildlife authorities regarding earlier ‘imports’.

Incorrect value declared

The recently-released consignment, which comprised three tigers (Panthera Tigris), a lion (Panthera Leo) and a leopard (Panthera Pardus), were brought in from the Czech Republic by Osaka Traders, which has offices at 759, block 18, F.B. Area, Karachi-75950. The consignment arrived at the Quaid-i-Azam International Airport on Jan 8 via Cathay Pacific Airlines (CV 7823) AWB No. 172-66192512. The three-box consignment was kept at the customs shed at the airport’s Air Freight Unit.

The trade and international movement of endangered animal species is monitored by the Geneva-based Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna (CITES). Permission must be obtained from this body as well as from the government of the importing countries.

According to documents examined by Dawn, the animals were purchased from Animal Source Czechinia SRO, Czech Republic, for approximately $4,200 (the tigers for $950 each, the lion for $600 and the leopard for $750).

Sources informed Dawn that Osaka Traders obtained the NoC/permission from CITES and from the Sindh Wildlife Department (No. CW/Gen(2007)/-353, dated Dec 17, 2007). The application for permission from the Islamabad-based National Council for the Conservation of Wildlife (NCCW) was forwarded by the SWD but the federal body was reluctant to issue permission until the case of earlier illegal animal imports by Osaka Traders was decided.

Rather than waiting for the government to issue the relevant permission, said the sources, Osaka Traders went ahead and brought in the latest consignment. However, the customs department refused to release it given the lack of full permissions.

When contacted by Dawn on Saturday, Sindh Wildlife Conservator Ghulam Rasool Channa said that his department had issued the NOC/permission over three weeks ago but the NCCW had not yet issued permission. Once this was done, he said, Osaka Traders could bring in the consignment. He confirmed that investigations were under way regarding Osaka Traders’ earlier animal imports.

Sources in the NCCW told Dawn that Osaka Traders’ application had been pending for the past few weeks but the NCCW had not issued permission since it wanted that the case against Osaka Traders’ earlier ‘imports’ be decided first. After the consignment arrived, the SWD gave the NCCW an undertaking that the earlier case against Osaka Traders would be decided within a couple of weeks, so the NOC (No. F6-2/2000 NCW, dated Jan 12, 2008), was issued on Saturday.

Meanwhile, sources in the customs department said that the value of the consignment declared by Osaka Traders ($950 per tiger, $600 for the lion and $750 for the leopard) had not been accepted and the value was reassessed at 2,000 Euros per tiger, 1,500 Euros for the lion and 3,500 Euros for the leopard.

The informed Dawn that various duties, calculated at the prices assessed by the customs department, had been charged and approximately Rs147,000 had been recovered. The department is investigating whether the price of the animals was wrongly declared; a post-dated cheque of Rs700,000 has been obtained from Osaka Traders as a guarantee until the investigations are completed, said the sources.