January 6, 2011
BANGKOK (AFP) - Thai authorities said Thursday they had seized 69 elephant tusks and four smaller pieces of ivory, worth more than 300,000 dollars, smuggled from Mozambique.
The customs department said the tusks were found on Wednesday at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport in two boxes bound for Laos, declared as personal goods, although officials believe the tusks were due to be re-imported to Thailand.
"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 Poontaneat told local television news.
The ivory weighed 435 kilograms (960 pounds) and was worth 10 million baht (330,000 dollars).
No arrests have been made yet, 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 hub for the carving of ivory.
