Customs and the Norwegian Environment Agency seize leopards, snake shoes and illegal alcohol – NRK Nordland
Hers is a scenario:
You come from duty free at an airport. You are nervous that you have a bottle or too much over the quota.
Next to you walks a person with a suitcase containing a whole leopard.
It may sound strange, but this can actually happen in Norway today.
The Norwegian Environment Agency has a whole room of exotic and equally illegal things that people have tried to smuggle into the country.
Either negligently, or on purpose.
– In recent years, we have made 664 seizures in Norway. This can be anything from hunting trophies, dietary supplements, feathers used in fly fishing and coffee containing species that are regulated. But worldwide, the scope is even greater, says senior adviser in the Norwegian Environment Agency, Jo Esten Hafsmo.
Snakes and alligators
The leopard is not the only endangered species that is attempted to be smuggled across borders.
NRK has also referred to tourists in Northern Norway as trying to smuggle both World War II aircraft parts and record quantities of fish.
Recently it was done large fittings with, among other things, parrots and ivory. In an international campaign in which, among others, the Norwegian police and customs were involved.
This is in line with the CITES convention.
It regulates international trade in endangered animal and plant species.
According to Hafsmo, smuggling of endangered animal and plant species is the world’s fourth largest illegal export and import industry.
Behind drug, human and arms trafficking, there is a turnover of 125 billion US dollars a year, in this area alone.
This corresponds to NOK 1,248 billion. So NOK 1,248,906,875,000.
– What we have seen a lot of in recent years is food supplements in particular, but also things like watch straps in alligator skin and snake skin. Mainly this is due to ignorance and lack of permits. But at other times there may be deliberate attempts at smuggling.
No corona brake
We’ve been through a global pandemic with the coronavirus, and people haven’t traveled as much as they did before.
However, it has not stopped the importation of illegal and regulated species, says Hafsmo.
– It is a real problem that internet shopping makes this more possible than before. It is easy to order nutritional supplements and have them sent to Norway, and we see that there is clearly more that comes via the post, than people taking it with them from travel, and the like.
This leopard is temporarily living in the Norwegian Environment Agency after being seized.
This stuffed tiger didn’t make it where it was intended either.
– What are the consequences for those who attempt this?
– If it is a matter of smuggling, the matter can be reported to the police and prosecuted under the CITES regulations and the Customs Act. If there is a question of missing permits, the copy may be confiscated, and an infringement fee may be issued from the Norwegian Environment Agency.
– But everyone can’t be caught, is there good enough control at the borders in Norway today?
– The customs authorities carry out checks, and we are satisfied with their efforts. But even if they have good methods and routines, the customs office cannot control everything. Parcel mail in particular is difficult to check, since you can state different contents than what is actually inside.
New methods
The customs authorities are the ones who control what comes through Norway’s borders.
Elisabeth C. Nettum, senior adviser at the Norwegian Customs Service, explains that they continuously monitor the flow of goods, and uncover new ways in which Norwegians smuggle.
– The customs agency finds that CITES-regulated species are being smuggled. Not just as products sent by post. But also as goods in travelers’ luggage and as consignments of goods. Online shopping experienced a major upswing in 2020–2021. We see that it is easy to buy exotic products from abroad online. These goods arrive in Norway in postal and freight consignments.
Nettum says that those in particular see a trend where Norwegians are introducing nutritional supplements and products from endangered plant and animal species.
– Some of these supplements contain powder from an endangered orchid species, Dendrobium. These products need permission from the Norwegian Environment Agency before import into Norway. In addition, some of the supplements contain medicines. They are then prohibited from being introduced without permission for this. These products are bought online and they pose a health risk to the user.
Not stored forever
The Norwegian Environment Agency recently made a TikTok video about seized goods.
There were several who wondered why they kept it in a room, when this is probably what the previous owners would have done.
– Will it be left for the foreseeable future, Hafsmo?
– We have routines for destroying the fittings, and our stock is getting smaller and smaller. According to the convention, we are allowed to use seized specimens in training. Among other things, we have a collaboration with Dyreparken in Kristiansand and Avinor in Kjevik, which have goods on display, so that we can give examples of what is not allowed.
Finally, are you wondering what you have to do to legally bring certain goods into Norway?
Here you will find what you need, at The Norwegian Environment Agency’s pages.