Shocking find in couple’s luggage as they arrived in Australia at Melbourne airport leads to hefty fine
Two ‘fish enthusiasts’ are facing fines after twice trying to smuggle more than 100 live fish into Australia in their suitcases.
Chun Lok Chi and business partner Linh Thi My Chau were caught at Melbourne airport in January 2020 with plastic bags filled with ornamental fish swimming in the water.
The pair were fined $54,000 by the Federal Court last week following an investigation by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.
The fish was found in the checked luggage of Chun Lok Chi and Linh Thi My Chau as they tried to enter Australia.
They were caught just a month after Mr Chi tried to smuggle live fish into Australia under similar circumstances.
Mr Chi and Ms Chau were described in the judgment as ‘fish enthusiasts’ who buy and sell ornamental fish and aquarium supplies on Facebook and Gumtree.
Mr Chi first caught the attention of border officials on December 29, 2019 when his suitcase raised eyebrows after it passed through an X-ray machine.
Upon further inspection, it was found that the suitcase contained four insulated bags, each containing a separate plastic bag filled with water containing live freshwater fish.
The fish in the plastic bags found in Mr Chi’s suitcase included plecos, arowana and snakeheads, and were not declared on his inbound passenger card (IPC).
He was issued a $420 infringement notice for providing a false or misleading IPC, which he paid.
However, 31 days later, Mr Chi landed again at Melbourne airport on a flight from Hong Kong with live fish in his checked luggage.
One of the ornamental fish seized from the two smugglers by border officials at Melbourne airport
The pair showed regret for bringing the fish to Australia, but were still given a hefty fine
When asked what was in his bag, Mr Chi replied: “Fish.”
But this time, his business partner, Ms Chau, was also found with the contraband.
When asked if there was any fish in her bag, Ms Chau replied: “Yes, I have some fish.”
In both cases, the fish were euthanized and stored by the department.
Mr Chi was fined $37,000 for two breaches of section 186(1) and one breach of section 533(1) of the Biosecurity Act 201, while Ms Chau was ordered to pay $17,000 for the same offences.
Judge Shaun McElwaine said that while the ‘imports were not sophisticated’, he could not accept that Mr Chi’s actions were ‘anything other than properly planned’.
“Because I was caught, issuing an infringement notice and destroying the fish on that occasion was ineffective,” he said in his April 19 ruling.
Mr McElwaine said the pair had cooperated at ‘all stages’, showed remorse and ‘even pleaded guilty’ at their first appearance in his courtroom.
It is the first time that civil penalties have been imposed under the scaled-up Biosecurity Act.
Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Murray Watt described the verdict as an “important milestone” and a deterrent for all travellers.
“Some of the fish attempted to be smuggled into our country are considered pest species to Australia and posed a huge risk to human, animal and plant health,” he said.
‘Severe civil penalties apply to those who break the law, and all travelers should be aware that serious breaches of Australia’s biosecurity laws could result in civil criminal proceedings being brought against you.
‘This is a great example of why we need to ensure our biosecurity system has sustainable, long-term financing to protect our environment and agricultural sectors from exotic pests and diseases.’