Thai Customs officials have seized 315kg of elephant tusks worth THB28 million at Suvarnabhumi Airport. The haul was found in 87 plastic barrels sent from Mozambique to Bangkok via Kenya.
The ivory was concealed with rocks and shipped over on a Kenya Airways commercial flight. The recipient of the cargo – a Kenyan national – fled Bangkok for Kenya soon after the discovery was made by Customs. He is still at large.
This is the fifth ivory seizure by Thai Customs in the 2015-2016 fiscal year.
Last April two huge hauls were intercepted at Laem Chabang Port, more smuggled ivory was seized at Suvarnabhumi in July, then there was a sizeable bust in December at Koh Samui International Airport.
“We can see that the traffickers are using different entry points, container sizes and smuggling techniques. So we must continue to be diligent and inspect all suspicious cargo coming in,” said the Director General of Royal Thai Customs, Kulit Sombatsiri yesterday.
This latest haul of ivory was found on March 27, added Kulit.
