The Daily Tribune <<< Without Fear or Favor >>>

»HEADLINES

»NATION

German trader pleads guilty to smuggling RP corals into US

By Michaela P. del Callar

10/16/2009

A German pleaded guilty Wednesday (Thursday in Manila) before a United States court to smuggling into Portland, Oregon 40 tons of internationally protected corals from the Philippines, the US Department of Justice said.

Gunther Wenzek, 66, was arrested in February 2009 when he entered the US at Dulles airport outside of Washington, DC en route to a pet exposition in Orlando, Florida. Formal sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 5, 2010.

According to a media report, Wenzek’s plea agreement would require him to pay a fine of more than $35,000 and three years probation.

Wenzek’s CoraPet, a company based in Essen, Germany, sells various coral products to retailers in the US. Customs agents seized two full containers of corals shipped by Wenzek to a customer in Portland. These two shipments made up a total of over 40 tons of corals.

The seized corals have been identified as belonging to scientific orders Scleractinia, genera Porites, Acropora, and Pocillopora, common to Philippine reefs, shelves and atolls.

Due to threat of extinction, stony corals, such as those seized in this case, are protected by international law.

Philippine law specifically forbids exports of all corals. Moreover, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) bars importation of the coral Wenzek tried to import to customers in the US, without filling out proper customs forms or permits.

The removal of dead coral and live rock is of major concern for coral reefs, including those reefs protecting coastal communities from storms. These corals are the fundamental building blocks of the coral reef ecosystem.

Unsustainable collection of coral frequently results in the loss of important nursery areas, feeding grounds, refuge for fish and invertebrates, and increased erosion of reef systems.

“This guilty plea is one example of the United States ‘ coordinated efforts, including the work of multiple law enforcement agencies, to protect coral reefs and marine ecosystems both domestically and internationally,” said John Cruden, acting Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division.

“Preventing the further decline of coral reefs through strong enforcement of our nation’s environmental laws is paramount in preserving marine environments and fisheries,” he said.

“We will not allow criminals to profit from the illegal devastation of the world’s coral reefs,” Kent Robinson, acting US Attorney for the District of Oregon, for his part said.

In court papers, Assistant U.S. Attorney Dwight Holton Holton noted that Wenzek told arresting officers he knew that importing coral from the Philippines without a permit was wrong, but that “he did so anyway because everyone does it.”