Smugglers thwarted as three tonnes of ivory is recovered in separate hauls

Nearly three tonnes of ivory have been seized in Vietnam and Thailand, highlighting the still thriving black market trade for illegal animal parts in southeast Asia. More than two tonnes of tusks, originating from Mozambique, had been discovered on Thursday buried among sacks of beans, Vietnamese customs officials in the northern Hai Phong port said. In Thailand, wildlife officials displayed more than 700kg of ivory items that were seized last week on the island of Koh Samui. They were found in a cargo container, marked as carrying hair wigs and on its way from Singapore to Laos.

We have zero tolerance on the use of Singapore as a conduit to smuggle endangered species, their parts and products

Chua Teck Hui, Singapore Customs

Tusks and other body parts of elephants are prized for decoration as talismans and for use in traditional medicine across parts of Asia, with China being a major market for such products. The international trade in ivory, with rare exceptions, has been outlawed since 1989 following the drop in the population of African elephants from millions in the mid-20th century to just 600,000 by the end of the 1980s. In Thailand, the country?s junta is cracking down on the lucrative trade. In August it incinerated more than two tonnes of confiscated ivory, the first time the kingdom has taken steps to destroy part of its stockpile.

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