Alleged Shark Fin Front Indicted
Federal authorities busted an alleged multi-million-dollar international shark fin smuggling ring. Twelve people and two front companies have been named as criminal defendants in what is described as an international conspiracy to illegally traffic shark fins and launder the millions of dollars it generated. The indictment alleges they formed “front businesses” in California and Florida and smuggled shark fins from Mexico to Hong Kong. California banned trade in shark fins but Florida's laws are looser which is what the alleged co-conspirators took advantage of according to the indictment. The defendants formed Phoenix Fisheries in Florida to mask shark fin trading in California according to the indictment. The indictment also alleges that Phoenix Fisheries falsified documents in violation off federal wildlife trafficking laws and lists two three-ton shipments of shark fins that went from Georgia to Hong Kong. The indictment, filed in Georgia, also includes illegal drug trafficking. One of the defendants, Mark Harrison, is a repeated offender. He pleaded guilty in 2009 to illegal dealings in fins from protected species, fined $5,000 and put on five-year probation.