Hong Kong Customs Seizes About $ $23.8M Worth of Suspected Totoaba Fish Maws in Smuggling Case

Hong Kong Customs detects first case this year of smuggling suspected fresh fish maws of scheduled totoaba

Hong Kong Customs yesterday (June 10) seized about 149 kilograms of suspected fresh fish maws of scheduled totoaba, with an estimated market value of about $23.8 million, at Hong Kong International Airport. This is the first related smuggling case detected by Customs this year.

Through risk assessment, Customs officers yesterday inspected an air transshipment consignment, declared to be carrying frozen fish fillets, arriving from Mexico en route to Vietnam via Hong Kong. Upon inspection, Customs officers found the batch of suspected fresh fish maws of scheduled totoaba mixed with frozen fish fillets inside eight cartons.

An investigation is ongoing.

Under the Protection of Endangered Species of Animals and Plants Ordinance (Cap. 586), any person found guilty of importing or exporting an endangered species without a licence is liable to a maximum fine of $10 million and imprisonment for 10 years.

Customs will continue to step up enforcement against trafficking activities involving prohibited and controlled items through air cargo, postal parcels and express courier channels.

Members of the public may report any suspected smuggling activities to Customs' 24-hour hotline 182 8080 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk) or online form (eform.cefs.gov.hk/form/ced002).

Hong Kong Customs yesterday (June 10) seized about 149 kilograms of suspected fresh fish maws of scheduled totoaba, with an estimated market value of about $23.8 million, at Hong Kong International Airport. Photo shows some of the suspected fresh fish maws of scheduled totoaba seized, which were mixed with frozen fish fillets. Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Hong Kong Customs yesterday (June 10) seized about 149 kilograms of suspected fresh fish maws of scheduled totoaba, with an estimated market value of about $23.8 million, at Hong Kong International Airport. Photo shows the suspected fresh fish maws of scheduled totoaba seized. Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Remarks by DSJ at media session

Following are the remarks by the Deputy Secretary for Justice, Dr Cheung Kwok-kwan, at a media session on the Funding Scheme for LawTech Solution Subscription by the Hong Kong Legal Sector during the LawTech Forum of the Hong Kong Legal Week 2026 today (November 5):

Reporter: The scheme targets junior barristers and small firms. What specific pain points has the financial barrier to lawtech been creating for these groups? And what immediate difference do you expect a $20,000 reimbursement to make in their day-to-day practice? My second question is: Applicants must choose from 14 providers. How are these providers vetted, and how will practitioners pick the right one? Will there be any guidance on which solutions are most suitable for specific practice areas?

Deputy Secretary for Justice: As you know, we launched the Funding Scheme for LawTech Solution Subscription by Hong Kong Legal Sector today (should be Tuesday), and the scheme aims to encourage the young legal professionals to enhance their capability to adopt lawtech resolution services in Hong Kong.

Certainly, financial burden is their concern - that is what we heard from the legal sector during our legal consultation. That is why we launched this pilot scheme. We are trying to encourage young professionals, especially those in small and medium-sized law firms, and barristers with less than seven years of experience. We hope to use this kind of financial incentive to encourage them to use the lawtech tools in their practice. I believe that after this pilot scheme, they will know how good the legal tools can help them in their practice. And I would say that this is only a beginning. Certainly, we will monitor the progress of the pilot scheme and see what we can do further for the legal sector in the years ahead.

(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the remarks.)

Source: AI-found images