ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines – More than 13,000 live exotic tropical fish were confiscated by police as they were being smuggled out of Tawi-Tawi, authorities said yesterday.
The smuggling attempt was initially detected last Thursday when alert policemen saw several Styrofoam boxes containing live fish estimated to be worth millions of pesos being loaded into a ferry, said Senior Superintendent Rodelio Jocson, Tawi-Tawi police director.
He said the first apprehension netted more than 10,000 tropical fish, including blue tongue, clown fish, lion fish, ribbon baby shark, and angel fish.
Jocson said they subsequently coordinated with the provincial government to keep a close watch on coastal areas and the Bonggao pier, leading to the confiscation Saturday night of more than 3,000 live exotic tropical fish.