Court acquits Chinese nationals over N$1.1 million seal genitals

Two Chinese nationals who were arrested on charges linked to the export of seal genitals from Namibia valued at over N$1.1 million were acquitted in the Windhoek Regional Court last Friday.

Regional Court magistrate Leopold Hangalo found Hou Xuecheng and Zhang Xianming not guilty on all five counts, including money laundering, unlawful export of controlled wildlife products, exporting animal products without a health certificate and failing to declare goods to customs.

The pair were arrested at Hosea Kutako International Airport on 7 January 2025 after authorities discovered 571 seal genitals weighing 21.7 kilograms in two suitcases. The products were valued at N$1.159 million.

State prosecutor Paulus Shilongo alleges that Zhang was preparing to board a flight to Luanda, Angola, with the suitcases while Hou accompanied him to the airport. The men reportedly relied on expired export documents that had originally been issued for a consignment destined for China, not Angola.

However, the magistrate ruled that the evidence showed the sealed genitals had been lawfully obtained.

Hou testified that he had bought 50 kilograms of seal genitals from Uukumwe Youth Empowerment Consortium for export to a client in Beijing in 2023. Export documents were prepared at the time, he said. However, the shipment never left Namibia because the Chinese buyer failed to pay, he told the court.

Evidence from the freight company confirmed that the consignment had been booked for export to China before being placed on hold and eventually returned to Hou. Representatives of Uukumwe also confirmed that Hou had been a customer for several years and had lawfully purchased seal products and quotas from the company.

Beyond doubt

Hangalo said there was no credible evidence that the seal genitals were proceeds of unlawful activity, an essential element of the money-laundering charges.

“The origin and source of them is the Uukumwe Youth Empowerment Consortium,” the magistrate said, adding that the products could be traced to a legitimate business transaction.

The court also found that the State had not proved that the men had actually exported the seal genitals.

Evidence presented in court showed that Zhang had not checked in for his flight and that the two suitcases had not been checked in when police intervened. Airport video footage and testimony from customs officials supported this version.

The magistrate ruled that because the luggage had not been checked in, the offence of exporting the wildlife products had not been completed.

On the customs charge, the court found that there was no evidence that the men had failed to declare the goods because they were detained before reaching the check-in stage, where the duty to declare the contents of their luggage would arise.

The magistrate further indicated that Hou was not travelling to Angola, making the charge against him particularly difficult to sustain.

The court concluded that the prosecution had failed to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt.

Hou was acquitted on all counts and his bail money was ordered to be refunded to the depositor. Zhang was also acquitted on all counts and ordered to be released immediately.

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