Thai customs make new three-tonne ivory seizure

[webfact]

Thai customs make new three-tonne ivory seizure
AFP

BANGKOK: -- More than three tonnes of elephant ivory have been found at a Thai port stashed in a container shipped from Kenya, customs said Monday, the second huge haul of tusks from Africa in less than a week.

The discovery, which would be worth millions of dollars on the black market, was destined for Laos where the illegal ivory trade flourishes.

Some 511 pieces of ivory, weighing over three tonnes, was found on April 25 in a container "marked as tea leaves transported from Mombasa, Kenya, and on to Laos", Thai customs said in a statement.

Scores of whole tusks -- some nearly two metres long -- were among the pieces seized.

A record four tonnes of African elephant ivory was seized at Bangkok's main port on April 20, in a container that arrived from the Democratic Republic of Congo and was also destined for Laos.

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 are coveted despite fears the trade is pushing wild elephants to extinction.

Laos "is increasingly being used as a major transit point for such large volumes of illicit ivory and other wildlife products", Chris Shepherd of conservation group TRAFFIC told AFP.

"The increase in large-scale seizures is of great concern. Whether the ivory is coming from freshly killed elephants, or from stockpiles of ivory in Africa, needs to be investigated," he added.

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

Thailand has launched a crackdown on the ivory trade amid mounting international pressure.

Global regulator Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) has threatened an international ban on Thailand's entire wildlife business if it fails to curb the trade in tusks on its soil.

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.

Thailand's fishing industry is also under scrutiny for exploitation of migrant workers and over-fishing.

Last week the European Union threatened to ban Thai fish imports unless the kingdom does more to halt illegal fishing.

Thailand is the world's third largest seafood producer and an EU ban could cost it around $1 billion annually.



-- (c) Copyright AFP 2015-04-27

[torpedo1970]

Looks like some Kenyan have not been paying the "Tea-Money" to the right persons....

[godden]

Any one involved in this disgusting trade should be hung.

[raphoedon]

Any one involved in this disgusting trade should be hung.

They should be but not before their own ivories are removed one at a time without anaesthetic.

[leeedwards]

This will continue to happen until all trade and possession of ivory is banned here. Shame shame shame on you Thailand, since you say you hold elephants in shuch high esteem.

[fareastguy]

Call me a skeptic if you must...

but are these recent "busts" for real... or

are they just a set-up with tusks from the store cupboard to get "CITIES' off Thailands back ??

[webfact]

Returned and impounded tusks among 3 tons of seized African tusks at Laem Chabang port

BANGKOK: -- African ivory worth over 200 million baht were seized at Laem Chabang port in Chonburi at the weekend, the Customs Department said Monday.

Among the confiscated tusks were found to be the tusks which Thailand had returned them to their original countries, while some were impounded tusks kept in storage rooms of some countries.

The department’s director-general Somchai Sujjapongse said three tonnes of African ivory were seized by Customs officials after they were found hidden in tea leaf sacks.

The seizure is the second-biggest bust in history.

The seizure came after a transport firm, Indochinese Inter Group, alerted customs officials that someone has used its name to transport cargo at the port.

The cargo, weighing 11 tons, was originated in Kenya, and was declared as tea in its manifest document..

The cargo left Mombasa port in Kenya on March 24 on its way to the Thai port passing Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Singapore, and Laem Chabang.

The cargo arrived on April 25 and was awaiting customs clearance before transporting to Laos.

Customs officials scanned the container with X-ray device and discovered three tons of elephant tusks among the tea cargo.

They were sealed and hidden beneath sacks of tea.

The customs chief said among the 511 elephant tusks that were bound for Laos are elephant tusks that Thai authorities had earlier confiscated and returned to the countries of origins.

Some of these confiscated tusks are also found to be impounded tusks kept in the official storage rooms of some countries, he said.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/returned-and-impounded-tusks-among-3-tons-of-seized-african-tusks-at-laem-chabang-port


-- Thai PBS 2015-04-27

[razer]

Why? They never did that before.

[Happy Grumpy]

the tusks which Thailand had returned them to their original countries

Hope they were checked to be not made out of plastic, upon arrival.

[Robby nz]

So now you Thai bashers know the history behind this catch.

Could it be that you should be castigating Lao, African countries and China instead of Thailand the country which is interception these shipments and actually trying to do something about it.

[craigt3365]

Congrats to Thailand for starting to crackdown on this. Unfortunately, it was outside forces that probably forced this....

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/625110-thailand-must-stop-ivory-trade-or-face-severe-sanctions-c-i-t-e-s/

Thailand must stop ivory trade or face severe sanctions: CITES

BANGKOK, 11 March 2013 (NNT) - A senior CITES official has warned that Thailand, and other countries of what he calls the "Gang of Eight", must stop ivory trade, or face severe sanctions.

Senior CITES official Tom de Meulenaer said that CITES' ruling committee has "lost patience" over the issue of ivory trade.

He said that unless the "Gang of Eight" countries stop ivory trade within a year, they will be banned from all wildlife trades, including the lucrative orchid and crocodile skin trade, which are a significant source of revenue for Thailand.

[ChrisY1]

So now you Thai bashers know the history behind this catch.

Could it be that you should be castigating Lao, African countries and China instead of Thailand the country which is interception these shipments and actually trying to do something about it.

Finally some exposure......and nothing to do with Thai bashing.....this is good news, regardless of the intended destintion

Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect Thailand

[off road pat]

"Some of these confiscated tusks are also found to be impounded tusks kept in the official storage rooms of some countries, he said"

why not name those countries ...????? ...I'd like to know who is involved....and who is president or prime minister in those countries....