Thailand has seized more than four tons of illegal ivory they found hidden in bean sacks. They were elephant tusks that traveled from the Democratic Republic of Congo to Bangkok. They were seized by authorities after police got a tip off about the transportation of these illegal ivory elephant tusks. The tusks were labeled ‘beans’ and traveled from Congo since February, making their way to Thailand just this week. The tusks were hidden among the beans when the customs department noticed something suspicious, in addition to receipt of the tip off. The Thailand Customs Department stated that the illegal ivory was found when officers acted on the tip off.
Crossroads for Illegal Ivory Trade to China
Thailand is a top destination for ivory smuggling in Asia. Thailand was given until the end of this past March to either shut down the illegal ivory domestic trade, or face sanctions. Having a sanction against them could mean more than just beans. It would also affect plants such as orchids from traveling to or from the area. The Customs Department commented that they consider this the biggest seizure in Thai history, and feel that the illegal ivory was due to be sold to customers in China, Vietnam, and Thailand. Ivory that travels into Thailand is usually turned into ornaments, then shipped to China for profit.
China declared a one-year ban on the import of ivory in February. Thailand, in January passed a law to regulate and control the trade of ivory, making the sale of ivory in Thailand illegal. There were over 20,000 elephants killed for ivory in 2013, leaving the species with only about 500,000. If the ivory had traveled all the way to Laos to be traded with China and Vietnam, it would have been a top trade agreement for the country. Officials have stated that the confiscated illegal ivory that was found was worth over $6 million and will be destroyed. Thailand has enforced the National Ivory Action Plan where security is at its highest with the trafficking of the traveling trades in and outside of the country. It also tries to get ivory owners through registration to declare the ivory that they own. There has been about 150 tons of ivory so far registered under the program, with a deadline set for Tuesday.
A Second Big Bust
Thailand also seized about three tons of ivory hidden in tea leaf sacks from Kenya. This is the second biggest ivory bust in Thailand in less than two weeks. The illegal ivory was traveling from through the port of Sri Lanka in Malaysia and Singapore before traveling on to Thailand. The director the customs department in Thailand made a statement saying that after these two consecutive big busts, the crime networks must realize it’s getting increasingly difficult to send their shipment past Thailand. He believes they will continue to come up with the more complicated means, so they will have to prepare new measures to thwart their attempts to import illegal ivory. Thailand remains on high alert to continue the seizure of illegal ivory traveling into the country.
Enjoy a more pleasant picture of Thailand’s influence. In this video, take a look at the flavorful, quickly prepared street foods in Bangkok, Thailand:
https://youtu.be/Hp4hQwygABM
