Connect with us

Regional News

Thai Customs Seize 422 Pieces of Smuggled Elephant Tusks

Avatar of CTN News

Published

on

Thailand Ivory Seized 07321

The customs official didn’t say where the smuggled ivory was being sent or if other people were suspected of involvement.

Thai authorities have seized 422 pieces of elephant tusks and arrested a Gambian man suspected of smuggling the ivory, customs officials said Tuesday.

The cut-up tusks were hidden in a shipment listed as unprocessed gemstones, Customs Department Director-General Kulit Sombatsiri said. The parcel was examined because Malawi is regarded as high-risk for smuggled goods and because a seizure last year had involved Mozambique ivory that was similarly concealed.

Thailand Ivory Seized 31695

Thai customs officials last year confiscated more than 1,200 kilograms (2,640 pounds) of ivory in nine separate cases.

Kulit said Friday’s seizure of 330 kilograms (726 pounds) of smuggled ivory worth around $480,000 was the first in Thailand this year. Thai customs officials last year confiscated more than 1,200 kilograms (2,640 pounds) of ivory in nine separate cases.

Sainy Jagne, 41, of Gambia was arrested in Bangkok on Sunday when he attempted to pick up the contraband, Kulit said. He faces charges of violating customs and wildlife protection laws.

The customs official didn’t say where the smuggled ivory was being sent or if other people were suspected of involvement. There is an almost total international ban on the trade in ivory.

Thailand Ivory Seized 56903

Thai customs officials measure seized elephant tusks by weight during a press conference at Customs Suvarnabhumi airport in Bangkok,

Poachers have killed tens of thousands of African elephants for their tusks in recent years to meet demand for ivory in Asia, putting the species at great risk. Thailand is a major transit hub and destination for smuggled tusks, which are often carved into tourist trinkets and ornaments. The biggest demand comes from China.

Last year, the wildlife trade monitoring network TRAFFIC praised Thailand for a huge drop in sales of ivory items resulting from an official crackdown aimed at shedding the country’s image as a center for the illicit trade in wildlife goods.

Thailand had been considered to have the largest unregulated ivory market in the world, but it instituted amended and new laws in 2014 and 2015. The Elephant Ivory Act regulates domestic ivory markets and criminalized the sale of African elephant ivory.

In 2015 Thailand incinerated more than two tonnes of confiscated ivory, the first time the kingdom has taken steps to destroy part of its stockpile.

The Associated Press

Continue Reading

CTN News App

CTN News App

Recent News

BUY FC 24 COINS

compras monedas fc 24

Volunteering at Soi Dog

Find a Job

Jooble jobs

Free ibomma Movies