HK officers seize huge illegal haul of ivory
Print Edition
AUTHORITIES in Hong Kong made their largest haul of contraband ivory in more than 30 years this week.
The city is one of the world’s top global transit hubs for endangered species and their products, such as shark fin, pangolin skin and rosewood furniture.
Customs officials said yesterday that they had seized 7,200 kilograms of ivory tusks, valued at around HK$72 million (US$9.22 million), at a warehouse beside the city’s harbor.
The ivory was discovered in a container of frozen fish from Malaysia. Officers found the tusks beneath the fish.
“The 1,000 boxes were half-empty when we found them with frozen fish put around the ivory,” said customs official Raymond Chan.
The WildAid conservation group estimated the tusks had probably been taken from about 720 elephants.
Hong Kong’s agriculture, fisheries and conservation department said it was investigating the shipment’s final destination, probably a nearby country.
Hong Kong has lagged other places, including the Chinese mainland, in adopting tighter rules against the trading of ivory and other endangered species.
Regulatory loopholes allow traders to use a stockpile of legal ivory as cover to smuggle illegal ivory to unsuspecting buyers, say groups such as the World Wildlife Fund and WildAid.
China’s mainland, Singapore and the United States have all banned the ivory trade, with the mainland to close down all operations by the end of this year.
Hong Kong, however, has only timetabled a ban by 2021.
Legislators are set to discuss the issue today and decide if traders should be compensated in the case of a total ban.
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