B10m in
elephant tusks seized at airport
Sixty-nine elephant tusks and four smaller pieces of ivory, worth 10 million baht and smuggled from Mozambique, have been seized at Suvarnabhumi airport.
The Customs Department said yesterday the tusks were found on Wednesday at the airport in two boxes bound for Laos, although officials believe the tusks were due to be reimported to Thailand. They were declared as personal goods.
‘‘They declared that the shipment was destined for Laos to fool customs authorities but the tusks were to be returned to Thailand over the border,’’ customs chief Prasong Poonthanes told local television news.
The ivory weighed 435
kilogrammes. The Customs Department said yesterday the tusks were found on Wednesday at the airport in two boxes bound for Laos, although officials believe the tusks were due to be reimported to Thailand. They were declared as personal goods.
‘‘They declared that the shipment was destined for Laos to fool customs authorities but the tusks were to be returned to Thailand over the border,’’ customs chief Prasong Poonthanes told local television news.
No arrests have been made, another official said, as nobody had come forward to claim the shipment, which is illegal under international laws that ban the trafficking of endangered species and their products.
Wildlife experts say Thailand is a commonly used transit point for the illegal trafficking of animal parts and also a centre for the carving of ivory. AFP
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