Thai customs seize African elephant tusks worth US$6 mn

[webfact]

Thai customs seize African elephant tusks worth $6 mn
AFP

BANGKOK: -- Four tonnes of African elephant ivory worth $6 million has been seized at a Bangkok port in a container labelled as beans, Thai customs said Monday, in the kingdom's largest-ever haul of its kind.

The 739 pieces of tusk were found stashed in a container which arrived at the port on April 18 after being shipped from the Democratic Republic of Congo destined for Laos, according to a statement by Thai customs.

"The pieces weigh around 4,000 kilogrammes (four tonnes) and are worth around 200 million baht ($6 million)... it is the biggest ivory seizure in Thai history," the statement said, adding they had been declared on the cargo list as beans.

Once in neighbouring Laos, authorities believe the ivory would likely be sold on to buyers from China, Vietnam or back into Thailand, countries where ivory ornaments remain highly prized despite fears the trade is pushing wild elephants to extinction.

Under Thai law, registered ivory from domesticated Thai elephants can be sold. But experts say that loophole allows criminal gangs to launder poached African ivory through the kingdom.

Thai authorities say they have stepped up seizures of illegal ivory after global regulator CITES threatened an international ban on the kingdom's entire wildlife business if it failed to curb the trade in tusks on its soil.

Last year the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) set Thailand an August 2015 deadline to fall into line or risk wide-ranging sanctions.

A ban would prevent the country trading anything appearing on that list with another country, including orchids and exotic wood which are significant export products for Thailand.

Conservationists say poaching and conflict has decimated the number of African elephants in the wild, prompting experts to warn the species could be wiped out within decades.

-- (c) Copyright AFP 2015-04-20

[Costas2008]

It bleeds my heart to know that at least 100 elephants have been slaughtered to satisfy the greed, ignorance and arrogance of some people.

I do hope they burn the tusks and not only warehouse them, so they will find out their way one day to fill the pockets of some other people.

Edited April 20, 2015 by Costas2008

[Mcffee]

They should sell this things as expensive as possible no matter to who and donate all the money to a fund to prevent wildlife from being poached. Only then at least this animals did not die for nothing.

[LuckyLew]

Wonder if they would be able to follow the trail back to see who shipped them

Or they could have let the cargo go with some sort of tracking to see who is receiving them

The bust is good but wonder how much gets thru

Sad when money tops conservation

[lee b]

So sad, but glad the customs got hold of it before it was shipped on. Shame it will happen again

[OOLEEBER]

Sounds like some a'holes pockets got burnt on this. Nice one. I hope it teaches them a lesson.

[NickJ]

If like most confiscated items a fair amount will reach its way back onto the market.

[Wadan]

Way to go Thailand. Thumbs up to your activities leading to the seizure of this highly illegal trade. Hope and wish it is possible some of the key culprits in this trade could be apprehended.

[Stradavarius37]

Thailand actually seems to be gaining ground on this issue - will miracles never cease...

[jackanapes]

the killing of elephants in south Africa hs been going on for some time even the killing of poachers hasn't deterred them maybe more security patrols may keep them in check .

[fareastguy]

A good bust but it's been a longtime coming...( might have been better to follow the shipment to find out who all the connections were) but at long last Thailand has finally got the message from the rest of the world it's time to clean up their act !

CITES has been pushing for a long time for Thailand to quit the Ivory trafficking/smuggling trade.

Now waiting for all the other departments to take notice of the yellow/red card warnings they've been issued with to take affect..

Aviation & fishery sectors to name just two !!

Thailand is getting some short sharp shocks after joining the rest of humanity in the international world... I just wonder if they will continue or "op-out"

[masuk]

It bleeds my heart to know that at least 100 elephants have been slaughtered to satisfy the greed, ignorance and arrogance of some people.

I do hope they burn the tusks and not only warehouse them, so they will find out their way one day to fill the pockets of some other people.

Costas. efaristoae. good afternoon.

Just a quick maths check here. There's on average 2 tusks per elephant.

So, 729 tusks divided by 2 comes to around 364 murdered pachyderms.

That exterminator of wild life to our north couldn't care less, so it's good to see that Thailand sits up listens to CITES, in relation to ivory, illegal fishing, slavery at sea, to mention a few..

What a shame that all these things are done to Thailand by threatening to close down trade. Seems only money talks.

[leeedwards]

This is the result when a country allows "legal" ivory trade. Shame on you Thailand.

[slapout]

as the thai's who own ivory just this past week had to turn in a inventory of weight, size, etc of their ''collections'' to government authorties. the amount listed was staggering and those listed as owners was not surprising as the normal politicans, business owners/tycoons, etc were named

wonder how much of that declared by these people came into their hands via illigal means? i would imagine much or even most was sourced/poached illegially and passed on via what was called legal business in thailand?

Edited April 21, 2015 by slapout

[JungleBiker]

Well the haul was on its way to Laos and probably the Lao buyer was the guy wanted by the US government with a $1 million bounty on his head: http://lao.voanews.com/content/us-laos-wildlife-conservation-11-3-14/1869123.html

He's being well protected by the Lao government!