§ Mr. BakerTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many(a) investigations and (b) successful prosecutions Customs officials have conducted with regard to breaches of CITES legislation in the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [124050]
§ Dawn PrimaroloHM Customs and Excise do not hold central records of the number of endangered species related investigations undertaken by its staff in any given period.
383WIn the period 1995 to date, the Department made 2,174 detections of live species or derivatives covered by CITES legislation. Of these, however, the vast majority were either tourist souvenirs (85 per cent.) or relatively small commercial quantities where there was insufficient evidence of deliberate criminal activity to warrant action beyond seizure of the goods.
During this period Customs has mounted four successful prosecutions, all resulting in custodial sentences.