Coast Guard seizes dried seahorses at Manila North Harbor

The Philippine Coast Guard on Friday seized an undetermined quantity of dried seahorse aboard a passenger and cargo ship docked at the Manila North Harbor.

This was after the Coast Guard Station Manila received a tip about a 10-wheeler truck allegedly carrying undocumented endangered species aboard the MV St. Francis Xavier.

PCG spokesperson Commander Armand Balilo said an inspection later revealed that the contraband was smuggled dried seahorse, as well as other endangered species.

“Representatives from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources are still at the North Harbor to examine and identify the other smuggled marine species,” he said.

The seizure was made at around 3 am Friday while the MV St. Francis Xavier, which is owned and operated by the 2Go Group Inc., was docked at Pier 4 of the Manila North Harbor.

A still undetermined quantity of dried seahorse was found aboard a truck on the ship, which was falsely declared as scrap plastic in the cargo manifest.

The MV St. Francis Xavier is reportedly a passenger and cargo vessel plying the Iloilo/Bacolod – Manila route.

Initial investigation showed that the Coast Guard Station Manila instructed the Task Force Sea Marshal aboard the ship to discreetly locate a 10-wheeler, green and silver truck with plate number WDZ-726.

The truck was allegedly carrying several undocumented endangered species.

Upon the ship’s arrival at Pier 4, the PCG’s board and search Team informed the skipper of the vessel of the presence of the suspected contraband.

The PCG’s legal office, K-9 group, sea marshal group and the Philippine Air Force intelligence Unit requested the cooperation of truck driver Sueta Marjun and helper Benjio Estrella in searching the truck.

Aside from the dried seahorse, the team also discovered other cargo suspected to be containing other types of endangered species.

Balilo said the PCG and the DENR are still investigating the quantity and the smuggled species in the cargo for the filing of charges against the shipper of the contraband.