Headed by Chief Justice Maqbool Baqar, the bench granted the time after the lawyer representing the customs department said that a final show-cause notice has been issued to the alleged smugglers of the rare marine species.
The two judges were hearing a petition filed by the World Wide Fund for Nature-Pakistan, Pakistan Animal Welfare Society and others for a thorough probe into the smuggling of endangered species, including black-spotted turtles and tortoises and the prosecution of smugglers under anti-smuggling and customs laws.
The petitioners, who had approached the court after the alleged turtle traffickers were arrested in Karachi last month, said the black-spotted turtles and tortoises are endangered species and protected under the Pakistan Trade Control of Wild Flora and Fauna Act 2012 and other related wildlife and anti-smuggling laws. The illegal trafficking of turtles, mainly from South Asia, has escalated in the past two years, the petitioners said, adding that these animals are collected from this region and then shipped to Thailand for sale.
Referring to a report on the smuggling of endangered wildlife, the petitioners said that over 1,960 turtles had been seized in 22 raids between January 2008 and March this year, with around 95 per cent of them confiscated in the past 15 months. “The black-spotted turtles are worth $1,780 each in the black market and have frequently been smuggled from Pakistan to China and Thailand,” the petitioners said.
The petitioners disclosed that one of the traffickers, Sajid Cheema, was arrested with 218 black-spotted turtles from Karachi on September 20. The suspect has, however, been handed over to the Sindh Wildlife Department, instead of being booked under the customs laws, the petitioners’ lawyer, Faisal Siddiqui pointed out. He argued that Cheema, who was freed from detention on bail, was being tried under the Sindh Wildlife Ordinance before a judicial magistrate in Malir district instead of being tried under the Customs Act.
The lawyer said that the alleged trafficker will be released after the imposition of a ‘minor penalty or lesser punishment’, as the customs authorities were required to retain his travelling documents till the final disposal of the case under the Customs Act. “But no proceedings have been initiated against the alleged traffickers,” he said, and pleaded the court to stay the trial proceedings before the judicial magistrate till the transfer of the trial application is decided.
During Friday’s proceedings, the customs authorities said that a final show-cause notice has been issued to the alleged smuggler. They requested for more time to file their report on progress in the investigation.
Adjourning the hearing till December 23, the bench directed them to submit such report by the next date of hearing.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 14th, 2014.
COMMENTS (2)
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Sindh government and people of Sindh have got to be cautious about these smugglers coming from Punjab - they exploit our resources already.
This is shameful incident on behalf of China, to purchase smuggled turtles from brotherly country. Sindh government should launch fierce crackdown on illegal smuggling of beautiful green-turtles.