The Alberta Court of Justice accepted a guilty plea and issued a $7,500 fine after a man was caught smuggling Crocodile meat through the Calgary International Airport.
Adeleke Abubakar Ali-Ibironke was accused by Canadian officials of unlawfully importing six pounds African Dwarf Crocodile meat, a threatened species listed under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.
The Canadian Government said that Ali-Ibironke arrived on an international flight to the Calgary International Airport on February 26, 2023, and told customs officers that he did not have any food or animal products in his luggage.
“Further examination by the Canada Border Services Agency revealed approximately six pounds of meat products in Ali-Ibironke’s luggage. Environment and Climate Change Canada enforcement officers inspected the meat products and sent samples for DNA analysis to identify the species,” said the GOC.
Ali-Ibironke plead guilty to one count of unlawfully importing a species of animal without obtaining the required permits, under Alberta’s Wild Animal and Plant Protection and Regulation of International and Interprovincial Trade Act.
The government said that the fine will be directed towards the Government of Canada’s Environmental Damages Fund.
