From the Daily News:
The supposed good luck powers of the bony-tongued Arowana fish didn't work for a Queens man who was charged with smuggling the creatures into New York in his suitcase.
Chee Chaw packed his suitcase with 16 of the rare, valuable fish in water-filled plastic bags when he left Malaysia for Kennedy Airport last April, court papers said.
Authorities say Chaw, 47, bought the fish - which fetch thousands of dollars on the black market - while visiting relatives.
His suitcase got misplaced during a transfer in Hong Kong and arrived in New York on a later Cathay Pacific Flight. Chaw arranged to have it delivered to his home in Elmhurst.
A routine check of the bag revealed the unusual contents - and the feds dispatched a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agent dressed up like a UPS worker to Chaw's house.
After Chaw confirmed the bag was his, Agent Paul Chapelle told him the fish found inside cannot be imported without a permit.
Agents recovered four more Arowanas during a search of the alleged smuggler's home. Several of the original 16 died in federal custody.