Vietnam Seizes 3.3M Tons of Smuggled Elephant Tusks in October

Vietnam’s police and customs forces have seized total 3.3 tons of elephant tusks which were illegally imported from Kenya and Mozambique over the past month. The latest batch was found on Oct 26 when the forces checked at Cat Lai port in the southern economic hub of Ho Chi Minh City a shipment declared to be timber from Kenya. The ivory was hidden in timber in two containers which is scheduled to transit to Cambodia. State media say one ton of ivory costs $1.8 million on the black market. Elephant ivory is used as jewelry and home decorations in Vietnam, which bans hunting of its own dwindling population of elephants. Earlier last month, Vietnam’s Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has issued a directive asking state agencies to take bold measures to combat any activities relating to trafficking of wild animals, especially transnational cases. Tightening control over wildlife trading is part of Vietnam’s efforts to ease the consumption and transport of wild animals which international organizations have called for. (Baochinhphu.vn Oct 27, AP Oct 27)