An illegal trade in live coral is being investigated by Customs officers after a steep rise in protected species being smuggled into Britain to decorate aquariums.

Hundreds of rare corals covered by international conservation laws have been intercepted at airports en route to aquarium shops. Demand is being driven by the fashion for “reef aquariums” and owners eager to have the rarest and most colourful specimens, even if they are endangered species.

Details of the largest live coral consignment discovered in Britain have been revealed by Customs officers. The 350 corals and clams were discovered at Manchester airport in September but the seizure was kept secret while investigations were carried out.

The corals had been stolen from Indonesia’s protected reefs and taken to Malaysia before being flown to Britain. Customs discovered that the consignment was destined for a wholesaler and then for shops in Manchester, Cheshire, the West Midlands, Northamptonshire, Yorkshire and Scotland.

The haul included specimens from the six species of coral protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, such as Catalaphyllia jardinei, Trachyphyllia geoffroyi and species in the genus Plerogyra.

Charles Mackay, head of the Revenue & Customs specialist cities team, said: “This was quite clearly a blatant attempt to smuggle banned and unlicensed corals into the UK to profit from the high prices they would fetch.” Customs officers have estimated that the haul would have fetched £50,000. The corals have been given to London Zoo.

A Revenue & Customs spokesman said that live coral was one of the top five animal items searched for at airports and ports. It was often hidden among legitimate imports or in the false bottoms of boxes.

“The seizures can be quite large because there is a commercial scale to these imports,” the spokesman said. “There has been an increase in seizures over recent years.” Rachel Jones, deputy team leader at London Zoo’s aquarium, said that there had been a noticeable increase in imports of live coral over the past two years, with particular demand for the dramatically coloured large polyped stony corals.

“People who keep corals are very serious hobbyists and most are entirely above board,” she said. “But some don’t really care where the corals have come from as long as they look good in their aquarium — for them it is just about collecting the latest cool animal in the latest cool colour.”

For each live specimen that reaches an aquarium, dozens more die during collecting and shipping.

Global warming is by far the greatest threat to reefs — experts say that many could be wiped out by changes to sea level and temperatures — but Ms Jones said that smuggling endangered species meant that “already stressed ecosystems are being put under further stress”.

Imports of protected coral need permits from the exporting country and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. Last year Britain issued 2,200 such permits. Indonesia accounts for up to 90 per cent of imports.

When Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer, a Liberal Democrat, raised the issue of live coral imports in the House of Lords, the Government said that it did not know how many coral owners or suppliers there were.

“Customs are to be congratulated for their work but the Government needs to ensure these key issues are addressed,” Lady Miller said. The aquatic trade needed a certification scheme for live coral, she said. “Some of the purchasing public do not know that they are buying something that is illegal and damages biodiversity and another part of the world. I am sure they would be horrified if they knew.”

Keith Davenport, chief executive of the Ornamental Aquatic Trade Association, said that the industry was careful to keep up with additions to the list of endangered species. “People on the fringes of the trade undermine the good name of an industry where the vast majority are acting entirely legitimately,” he said.

Customs officers seized 159 live corals and 14 sea horses at Heathrow in September and the previous month intercepted a courier package at East Midlands airport containing six live protected corals.

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