U.S. authorities at a South Florida airport have apprehended a woman for allegedly smuggling a stash of marine life, including the unassuming sea cucumber. Xiao Pingping was busted at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport trying to sneak in the spiny creatures, camouflaged within clothing in her luggage, the Miami New Times reports.
The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) had been keeping tabs on Xiao for over a year before the arrest. Xiao had previously sent an illegal shipment of 435 sea cucumbers, among other marine contraband like 33 sea horses and 16 shark fins, to a Floridian, claims the FWS. This shipment, lacking the required special export permit, especially for the sea horses, which are protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), raised red flags with the authorities.
The sea cucumber is a coveted item in various Asian cultures for its supposed medicinal and aphrodisiac properties. Commercial farming and legal harvests notwithstanding, the black market thrives, with some rare species of these tubular animals fetching thousands of dollars per pound. The demand has sparked global trade, which, while supporting some local economies in developing nations, has led to the over-harvesting and subsequent devastation of certain sea cucumber populations, leading nations like India to ban their exports, according to the Outkick.
As wildlife officials told the Miami New Times, law enforcement is not overlooking this illicit sea cucumber trade. Past examples include a Tucson company fined nearly a million dollars in 2018 for importing $17 million worth of the creatures, and a Tijuana man sentenced to six months in 2020 for attempting to traffic 300 pounds of sea cucumber across the California border. South Florida ports and airports are particularly notorious for being hubs of smuggled wildlife activity, with officials continuously attempting to clamp down on the illegal influx.
If convicted, Xiao faces charges related to several incidents of wildlife smuggling dating from 2021 to the present, including trafficking protected species and failure to declare items to customs agents.
