Vietnamese authorities announced on Thursday (August 13) that they had discovered and seized more than a ton of elephant ivory hidden and suspected to have been illegally transported from Africa into the country.
The discovery was made during an inspection of imported goods at a seaport, when customs forces in coordination with specialized units detected the ivory cleverly disguised inside cargo containers declared as agricultural products.
The confiscated ivory weighed over a ton and was confirmed to originate from Africa, entering Vietnam by sea. Those involved had exploited loopholes in customs declaration procedures to legitimize the illegal shipment.
Authorities are continuing to investigate and expand the case to trace the network transporting and distributing illegal ivory. Vietnam is one of the major transit points for illegal wildlife trade in Southeast Asia, with ivory being a highly sought-after commodity due to its high black-market value.
Under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), transporting or selling ivory without a permit is a legal violation subject to severe penalties. International conservation bodies have repeatedly called for stronger controls to curb elephant poaching in Africa.
