MANILA — Operatives of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) arrested a man allegedly involved in the illegal shipment of corals to the United States.
The suspect, identified as Glenn Alber Binoya, was presented to the media at the NBI office in Manila on Friday.
Binoya was arrested by the NBI’s Environmental Crime Division in Bacoor, Cavite earlier this week, after authorities received a letter from the United States Fish and Wildlife Service about smugglers of corals from the Philippines.
Recovered from Binoya were some 1,800 pieces of live hard and soft corals and three giant clams, locally known as taklobo, estimated to have a commercial value of USD54,000 or about PHP2.7 million.
The NBI said the National Fisheries Research Development Institute, which examined the seized items, said the live hard/stony corals fall under the order, Scleractinia.
The clams were identified as Tridacna and are on the list of endangered species of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. -PNA
