NAIA can’t allow crocs on plane Volt Contreras Inquirer
November 14, 2006
CONSIDER this a real-life sequel to the recent box-office thriller “Snakes on a Plane.”
Airport officials intercepted Monday night a Filipino passenger who had three live crocodiles in his carry-on luggage as he flew home from Cambodia via Singapore.
Unless X-ray monitors mistook the 1.5-foot-long reptiles for leather goods, it was a puzzle to authorities how Enrique Yu Castillo Jr., 50, managed to sneak his scaly companions through two countries.
Castillo, who introduced himself as a businessman residing at Better Living Subdivision, Parañaque City, initially claimed he was carrying live fish in his black bag when accosted by customs and quarantine inspectors at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
When checked, out wriggled his secret cargo: Three live Siamese crocodiles, each about 1.5 feet long.
The species is on the endangered list under Philippine law and international accords.
Glen Pastorfide, an environment officer posted at the NAIA, said his office was tipped off as early as last week that Castillo might attempt to bring endangered species into the country.
Castillo had earlier applied for a permit to import exotic animals but was denied, said Pastorfide, chief of the NAIA-based Wildlife Traffic and Monitoring Unit of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
Customs officials were thus alerted about Castillo’s arrival at around 9:30 p.m. Monday on Singapore Airlines Flight SQ 076, the official told the Inquirer.
Castillo’s travel records showed that he first boarded a Silkair flight from Phnom Penh’s Pochentong Airport then transferred to SQ 076 at Singapore’s Changi Airport for the final trip to Manila, the official said.
By their length, the three crocodiles appear to be juveniles, he explained. Adults of such species normally grow up to a meter long at the age of six months.
A NAIA statement said Castillo was also found carrying two bottles containing vanda orchid cultures without a phytosanitary permit from the Bureau of Plant Industry.
Castillo has been placed under investigation for violation of Republic Act No. 9147 (Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Act) and the Convention on the International Trade of Endangered Species, according to NAIA records.
Pastorfide said the three crocodiles were wrapped in a net and were the only contents of Castillo’s bag. He traveled alone and was the last among the passengers to file out past the customs desk, he added.
Connie Bungag of the NAIA’s media office said the passenger, who as of Tuesday, was already being assisted by a lawyer, was also being investigated by the Bureau of Customs for possible violation of the Customs and Tariff Code.
