Forensic analysis used in successful prosecution

A Wildlife Enforcement Group (WEG) case which has been going on for the past couple of years has made a prosecution from successfully forensically analysing Chinese medicines containing endangered species.    

The defendant, Tina Ting Xu, director of the defendant company Tong De Tang Trade 2005 (NZ) Ltd pleaded guilty in the Auckland District Court in October 2009, to a total of 24 charges.   

These were laid indictably under the Trade in Endangered Species Act 1989 and were pertaining to the trading and possessing of endangered and threatened wildlife species in terms of the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).  

The case commenced in August 2007 when New Zealand Customs officers examined the contents of a sea container which had just arrived from China. The import entry for the container described the contents as Chinese herbs.  

On inspection, the container was found to have some items that had not been enumerated on the import entry — including unidentified plant material, shaved animal horn, dry silkworm, donkey hide glue, and deer horn glue.  All of the undeclared items were concealed inside cartons containing other goods such as paper bags, miracle lamps, and electrical herb cookers.  

After forensic analysis, some of these products were confirmed to be CITES-listed species including saiga antelope and musk deer.  The importer, Tina Xu, did not have an appropriate permit or certificate to trade in these species.  

A written explanation allegedly written by the exporter Su Liang LI, from Anhui Xiehecheng Chinese Herb indicated these goods were replacements for faulty products earlier supplied.   

A search warrant was executed in December 2007, which is when the original documentation was located, and there was a follow-up inspection in December 2007.  CITES-listed species were located during both search warrant and inspection.  

In June 2008 Ms Xu was interviewed, revealing some interesting details.  She admitted to signing the name of exporter Su Liang Li, manager of Anhui Xiehecheng Chinese Herb Ltd Corp at the foot of the letter.  

A number of other documents revealed that certain CITES-listed species had had their names changed prior to their arrival in New Zealand to effect their importation, for example, pangolin was changed to fruit skins.  

Ms Xu and Tong De Tang Trade will appear in court on 4 March 2010 for sentencing.    

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