Police in Hanoi and Danang have seized one tonne of elephant tusks and rhino horn smuggled into Vietnam from Africa.
Nearly a tonne of tusks and horn found at Tien Sa Seaport
Anti-smuggling forces from Danang Customs and police in Danang discovered on August 13 nearly one tonne of tusks and horn at Tien Sa Seaport.
The tusks and horns were allegedly brought into Vietnam by Danang-based Van An Company from Mozambique and were hidden inside fake marble in a shipment of the stone. Each fake piece contained dozens of elephant tusks or rhino horn.
Tusks and horns hidden inside fake marble
A day earlier, anti-smuggling forces from various agencies in Hanoi discovered four suspicious items of luggage at Noi Bai Airport sent from Africa to Vietnam via South Korea, seizing 50 pieces of tusk and horn, weighing more than 100kg.
The names attached to the luggage allegedly belong to two Vietnamese men, Pham Van Luat and Vu Thanh Hung.
Samples were sent to the Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources, under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, for testing.
Police are investigating the cases.
International trade of elephant tusk and rhino horn is illegal in Vietnam. Both elephant and rhino are endangered species and listed in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.
