Tienes reportajes guardados
One of the largest shipments—25 tons bound for China valued at US$630—was intercepted at the port of Callao by the National Superintendency of Customs and Tax Administration (SUNAT) during a massive operation aimed at companies thought to be fishing and trafficking aquatic species at risk of extinction.
The operation undertaken last week by the Special Operations Brigade (BOE) identified several containers each holding between 100 and 150 bags filled with dorsal fins thought to belong Blue Shark (Prionace glauca) and Thresher Shark (Alopius pelagicus), among other species on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list.
By press time Customs agents were still counting the individual specimens killed in the sea of Ecuador and northern Peru. The spine chilling number—25 thousand dorsal fins according to one source—has shocked even those agents hardened by years of experience in the fight against smuggling, drug trafficking, and illegal gold mining.
The total number killed could go higher in the coming hours as agents continue to inspect the 25 tons of cargo seized in warehouses in the port of Callao. “The value of this suspect shark fin export operation seems small (US$630,000) when compared to the value of gold, wood and other raw materials sent overseas, but the damage to nature and the marine ecosystem is incalculable,” said one of the officials connected with the interception.
The investigation has revealed the owners of cargo to be Angaff SAC, Huiman SAC, Lamarqocha Inversiones SAC (headquartered in Lima), Inversiones Peru Flippers EIRL (located in Callao), and Marea Blue EIRL (Tumbes). Records show that these companies were all created in the last five years and import shark fins from Ecuador for subsequent export to China and Hong Kong, markets that sell the product for gastronomy or for its supposed aphrodisiac properties.
“More than 25,000 sharks are estimated to have been killed based on the number of fins Customs has recovered.”
According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Peru is currently the third largest exporter of shark fins globally and the largest Latin American supplier of this product to China.
INTERVENTION. The Customs Special Operations Brigade discovered several containers holding polyethylene bags destined for China.
Photo: Ojo-Publico.com
SUNAT’s customs operations have traced the start of the shipment route to Ecuador, where fishing or extractive activity associated with these species has been banned since 2007. Suppliers deliver the product to the local export companies at Callao or ports along the northern coast waiting to forward the illicit cargo on to its final destination in Asia.
Companies under investigation
Customs officials have singled out five companies.
Lamarqocha Inversiones SAC sent shipments to China valued at more than US$7 million between July 2016 and September 2018. Set up in 2016, the company’s general manager is Amadeo Sáenz Astuñaupa, and its owners are Lucila Sáenz Astuñaupa and the Chinese-born Xiaoou Zheng.
Angaff Peru sent shipments to China valued at US$300,000 in 2018. Set up in Lima in 2013, the company is managed by Jorge Castillo Martínez, who also co-owns the company together with Brian Junior Pinto Panduro (aged 24).
Huiman S.A.C. has imported products from Ecuador valued at US$350,000 and exported to China in the amount of US$880,000. Set up in Lima in 2016, its managers are the company representative Clotilde Huiman Córdova and her husband Jorge Castillo Silva.
VULNERABLE. The thresher shark in this image is distinguished by its long tail, It has become a species coveted by fishermen around the world.
Photo: Nicolas Voisin / Oceana.
Since 2016 the Callao-based Inversiones Perú Flippers has exported products valued at more than US$421,000 to Hong Kong. Set up in 2015, the company is owned and managed by Juan Quispe Huamaní. Marea Blue has also exported to Hong Kong, in the amount of US$57,000 during 2018. Set up in 2017, the company is owned and managed by Miguel Angel Vera Chevez,
Organizations involved in the fight against the illegal trade in shark fins point to official inaction against the organizations that extract and traffic these aquatic species in danger of extinction. The National Police, the Prosecuting Attorney for Environmental Issues, and the National Division for Fisheries Health of the Ministry of Production (SANIPES) are all responsible for control activities.
INSPECTION. Each container had among 100 and 150 bags with thousands of shark fins.
Photo: Ojo-Publico.com
Ojo-Publico.com understands that Customs is attempting to establish real origin of the cargo, which could remain seized for up to 30 working days. This is the largest shark fin investigation in recent years. Since 2015 Peruvian authorities have intercepted more than 27 tons of this species during various operations carried out in the localities of Tumbes, Ancash, and Lima.
The Office of the Attorney General could take the case to the judiciary under the crime of illegal extraction of aquatic species. Julio Guzmán, the environment ministry’s Public Prosecutor, has informed Ojo-Publico.com that when such cases go to court they usually conclude in a sentence (the maximum penalty is five years in prison), with the cargo incinerated because it has no gastronomic or industrial use in Peru.
Suppliers and other suspects
The last operation against these organizations took place last March when SUNAT seized almost two tons of shark fins in Chimbote (Ancash) in connection with crime of trafficking in aquatic species. The haul—51 bags originating in Tumbes and valued at US$31,000—lacked the necessary documentation proving its legal origin. The accused are Poly Dicks Pinto Gonzales—father of Brian Pinto Panduro, one of the owners of Angaff Perú—and the brothers Jorge Roldán and María Amelia Ángulo Sánchez. The case is currently with the judiciary.
As part of its investigations, Customs has also identified Génesis Naomi (based in Tumbes) as a supplier of shark fins. The company, set up in 2014 and owned and managed by Mario Lucio Maceda Vidal, imported more than US$1.2 million of shark fin from Ecuador between 2015 and 2016. Maceda Vidal was sent to prison after being accused of membership of the criminal organization "Los Piratas de Puerto Pizarro", which operates in northern Peru.
“The blue shark and the thresher shark are in danger of extinction, according to the IUCN red list”.
According to local press, last November the Superior Court of Tumbes handed out sentences of 36 months pre-trial detention for 20 members of the gang, including Maceda Vidal. The Office of the Attorney General has accused these individuals of intercepting shipments and then selling them in the illegal markets of Ecuador and Peru.
The trafficking of these species—whose real origen is “laundered” as part of the export process—continues all over the world even in countries which their capture is restricted. This lack of control could lead to extinction, according to The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). The next CITES Conference of the Parties is to be held in 2019 in Sri Lanka. Peru plans to take a proposal to create an inventory of the fins from these species in order to limit permits for their trade.
Because of high demand in the Asian market, Peru has become the exit route for countries such as Ecuador that have capture restrictions. According to the Fishery Products Department of PROMPERU, the country has exported more than 360 tons of shark fins in the last two years at an FOB value of US$10 million.