THE Coast Guard Station (CGS) Negros Occidental has intercepted at least 15.25 kilos of dried seahorses Friday morning, March 26, 2021, at the Banago Port in Bacolod City.
Captain Ludovico Librilla, station commander of Coast Guard Station (CGS) Negros Occidental, said the shipment was bound for Iloilo City and was already aboard the M/V FastCat M3 when they intercepted the package.
According to the CGS commander, based on their initial investigation, the package was brought by an unidentified individual who paid for the package to be sent to Iloilo City.
The confiscated items were valued at more or less P460,000.
Librilla said the confiscated items had been properly turned over to the custody of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources.
Under the Philippine Fisheries Code of 1998, transporting, taking and selling rare, threatened and endangered fishery products is prohibited.
Violators could face a fine of P300,000 to P5 million or a three- to five-year prison sentence if found guilty.
An investigation was made to identify the sender of the package.