Thailand has seized more than three tonnes of elephant ivory illegally poached in Kenya, according to customs officials; the second such large consignment from Africa in less than a week.
The 511 pieces of ivory 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. A record four tonnes of African elephant ivory was seized at Bangkok’s main port on April 20, in a container arriving from the Democratic Republic of Congo. Both shipments were destined for Laos, a flourishing major hub of the illicit trade in ivory. Scores of whole tusks – some nearly two metres long – were among the pieces seized.
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 domestic Thai elephants can be sold. But experts say that loophole allows criminal gangs to launder poached African ivory through the kingdom.
