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i guess that's only slightly better than the woman who was stopped with 20-ish parrots in her coat, most of which died in transit ]

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"That's the trouble with political jokes in this country... they get elected!" -- Dave Lippman

Woah!! Plecos!! Could of sold them for a over a grand each! I dont understand why they didnt get arowanas...they sell for thousands here...

My whole family was talking about this yesterday while we were watching my tank.

-Ferret



[hr width='40%'][font color="#000080"]
I tear my heart open, I sew myself shut
My weakness is that I care too much
And my scars remind me that the past is real
I tear my heart open just to feel
[/font]

-Formerly known as the Ferretfish

The Fish:

http://www.customs.gov.au/webdata/resources//photogallery/050606_fish01.jpg

http://www.customs.gov.au/webdata/resources//photogallery/050606_fish02.jpg

Last edited by Koi Keeper at 12-Jun-2005 09:39

Empty chairs at empty tables, the room silent, forlorn.

Did they ever ID all the fish?

this is quite funny, as well as obsessive...

Lol i read this some were else to !

I've just read the Jessica Speart page. And it makes fairly depressing reading. Not only because of the fact that there are unscrupulous (and downright evil) individuals who will stop at nothing to make huge profits from drug smuggling, but that they'll rape the planet and its natural treasures in pursuit of this, thus inflicting double damage. The irony is that a multinational corporation caught with its pants down indulging in ecosystem destruction can expect a ton of flak from numerous sides, be it politicians, Green activists, and plain old concerned members of the public, not to mention the less than delightful prospect of appearing in a TV documentary splashed all over 100 million TV screens telling everyone what lowlives they are. Drug smugglers neither care about the bad press, nor the prospect of being caught, partly because being caught rarely happens, and your average concerned member of the public is going to think twice before annoying a bunch of ruthless criminals armed to the teeth with automatic weapons.

The website was also depressing from this standpoint: Jessica Speart has written novels based upon the lamentable coupling between drug smuggling and the abuse of wildlife, and this allows some to sit back and say "well, it's fiction". The problem here is that the fiction is, if anything, an understatement of reality: as was eloquently stated on the website, law enforcement has to provide accounts and plans to justify its existence to the higher echelons of the political command chain (though I would have thought the need was manifestly obvious to anyone with a minimum of ten functioning brain cells) while the drug smugglers can concentrate on being creative about their smuggling operations. Which means that again, the public is left feeling that with respect to this issue, it's powerless. Even those that care passionately about the issues have to ask themselves the daunting question, of whether the issue is sufficiently compelling to warrant action that could impinge severely upon their own personal safety. Let's face it, the average member of the public isn't going to be too happy joining a campaign to thwart these individuals if they perceive that doing so could result in them and their families winding up dead in a ditch somewhere. Even in the face of this, however, I remain optimistic that if enough good people exercise the will and the effort, the damage can be, if not eliminated, then certainly reduced significantly. After all, what Man can do, Man can undo ...


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

A magazine article I found while browsing, it is old (1994) but still interesting since we are on the topic. A few snippets:

In what is known as the China White Case, a smuggling ring operating between Shanghai and San Francisco was implanting heroin-filled condoms into the stomachs of large goldfish. Mortality in a certain percentage of the fish regularly shipped in for the pet trade is expected. It was only when Chinese officials noticed stitching on the fishes' bellies that they began to smell a scam. The Chinese worked in cooperation with U.S. agents, which eventually led to the arrest of three men. The case is now being appealed.

In perhaps the most creative ploy to date, shipments of tropical fish were double-wrapped, with the outer bag holding liquid cocaine. Though USFWS has been aware of this ruse since 1985, no case was ever cracked until May 6, 1993. Tipped off by a DEA informant, agents discovered 12 out of 60 boxes of tropical fish contained liquid cocaine, which appeared as an oily thickness at the bottom of the bags. A second case, in October 1993, involved 100 boxes. This time the fish swam in dark-blue, medicated water with the liquid cocaine dyed to match. A third shipment was discovered when some bags sprang a leak, emitting a strange odor.

Why did it take so long to crack the first case? "Here in Miami, there's a minimum of 300 shipments of tropical fish each week. Each of those contain anywhere from 100 to 200 boxes. You could have four inspectors opening up boxes 24 hours a day, and you still wouldn't find all the liquid cocaine coming in," contends agent Picon. In addition, tropical fish have always been, and continue to be, considered a low priority. The cases remain open with no arrests. "There's no way in hell you're going to be able to run those folks down at this end," confides an USFWS agent. "They use false names. They're home free."

Miami has the highest incidence of both drug and wildlife smuggling. "This is the northernmost city of South America. What do you expect?" replies Customs' Rosenblatt. "Law enforcement is maxed to the hilt, and we keep losing resources. Meanwhile, the bad guys don't have to do accounting ledgers and five-year plans, like we do, to justify their existence. They have the time to be creative." Miami is also notorious for having the lowest inspection rate of wildlife shipments in the country. With only five inspectors now working full-time, it's an impossible job and a prospect that smugglers relish.

One of the biggest busts involving wildlife and drugs in Miami came not from liquid but from powdered cocaine. Packed in tubes, the cocaine became part of hundreds of styrofoam boxes containing tropical fish. Seventy-five kilos of the narcotic were discovered. Yet even when drugs are found in wildlife, a certain minimum must be met for DEA to take on a case. "It's got to be more than a kilo of heroin, more than 5,000 pounds of marijuana, and more than five kilos of cocaine, or we don't even look at it," confirms DEA agent Tom Cash.

[link=http://www.jessicaspeart.com/magcargo.html]http://www.jessicaspeart.com/magcargo.html" style="COLOR: #f4e8e0[/link]

A shadier side of our beloved hobby....it's amazing what some people will do do make a few dollars.

You wouldnt want to know how some people smuggle fish into Australia. Just say they xrayed a person and found some fish in funny looking bags in the lower parts of a person.

There's a pic here... [link=http://www.customs.gov.au/site/page.cfm?c=5650]http://www.customs.gov.au/site/page.cfm?c=5650" style="COLOR: #4778C7[/link]
Stupid woman, sif you're not going to get caught

LMAO


Come Play Yahtzee With Me!
http://games.atari.com
Http://www.myleague.com/yahtgames

My mum is a woman ...

Would lead to some interesting biological speculation if she wasn't



Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

Apparently some of these fish were plecos, including a pair of L066 cats. If the smuggler had made it through the airport, they would have profited greatly!

I feel really bad for the fish, since they will probably be "disposed of" by customs officials. They (the fish) weren't the wrongdoers.

Last edited by sirbooks at 07-Jun-2005 15:06

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And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."

My mum is a woman, and she's 43 this year.
I'll ask her tomorrow.

Are you a woman, aged 43?

The woman, aged 43 from Rosanna, in Victoria, arrived at Melbourne airport on a flight from Singapore on Friday.


YEEKS!!! I'm from Rosanna ... .. .

From the Sydney Morning Herald;

A woman has tried to smuggle 51 live tropical fish into Australia concealed beneath her skirt.

The woman, aged 43 from Rosanna, in Victoria, arrived at Melbourne airport on a flight from Singapore on Friday.

Customs officers said they were alerted by "flipping" noises coming from the vicinity of her waist.

The woman was found to have 15 water-filled plastic bags concealed beneath her skirt, suspended in a purpose-built a, said Australian Customs Service acting regional director Jaclyne Fisher.

Efforts were continuing to identify the fish found inside the bags, Ms Fisher said.

A Rosanna home has also been searched by authorities and another five fish seized.

"The fish ... could have posed potentially serious quarantine, environmental and health risks had they not been seized by Customs," Ms Fisher said.

The woman is facing a maximum penalty for the illegal importation of wildlife of $110,000 and ten years' jail.

It is the second seizure of live fish at Melbourne's airport in recent months.
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In March, customs officers stopped an alleged attempt to smuggle rare Asian Arowana fish by an airline crew member.

"Wildlife trafficking is a cruel practice as many of the offenders ignore the health and well-being of the animals by packing them tightly in small areas for long periods of time," Ms Fisher said.

Ms Fisher, how apt (just noticed that!)

Last edited by wish-ga at 06-Jun-2005 22:01

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~~~ My fish blow kisses at me all day long ~~~

LMAO!

They had this onbthe radio this morning and were trying to name the garment

What is the bet you can do?

For animals, the entire universe has been neatly divided into things to (a) mate with, (b) eat, (c) run away from, and (d) rocks. - Terry Pratchett

This is hilarious. Hopefully it wasn't one of our Aussie members returning from a trip :lol:


There must have been something fishy about the way she walked. Customs officials said Monday they stopped a woman as she arrived Friday in Melbourne on a flight from Singapore, and found 51 live tropical fish allegedly hidden in a specially designed a under her skirt.

"During the search, customs officers became suspicious after hearing 'flipping' noises coming from the vicinity of her waist," the Australian Customs Service said in a press release. "An examination revealed 15 plastic water-filled bags holding fish allegedly concealed inside a purpose-built a."

The species of fish was not immediately known, but customs officials warned they could carry diseases that could decimate Australian fish if they escaped into local rivers.

Customs officers will charge the woman once they establish what species the fish are. If convicted of smuggling wildlife, she faces a fine of up to 110,000 Australian dollars - the equivalent of about $83,000 US-and could also get a prison sentence of up to 10 years.