Man caught with illegal crocodile meat at Calgary International Airport

A West African dwarf crocodile rests under a heat lamp in a pool at the zoo on Friday, June 4, 2010 in Racine, Wis. The Canada Border Services Agency caught a man trying to smuggle six pounds of crocodile meat past customs officers at the Calgary International Airport in February. (AP Photo/Journal Times, Scott Anderson)

A man who was caught with meat from a threatened species of crocodile at the Calgary International Airport earlier this year has been fined $7,500.

On Sept. 20, Adeleke Abubakar Ali-Ibironke pleaded guilty in the Alberta Court of Justice to one count of unlawfully importing a species of animal without obtaining the required permits.

Ali-Ibironke arrived in Calgary on Feb. 26 and did not declare any food or animal products.

A further investigation by the Canada Border Services Agency discovered six pounds of meat products in his luggage, officials said.

Subsequent testing identified the meat as African dwarf crocodile, which is classified as a threatened species.

Ali-Ibironke was charged under the Wild Animal and Plant Protection and Regulation of International and Interprovincial Trade Act, a piece of legislation created to protect Canadian and foreign species of plants and animals from exploitation.

African dwarf crocodiles have been listed as a Level 1 species at risk under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) since 1995.

According to CITES, commercial trade in these species is generally not allowed.

The fine will be paid to the Government of Canada's Environmental Damages Fund.