Vietnamese authorities made their largest seizure of wildlife products in years on Monday, confiscating seven tonnes of ivory that had been smuggled from Angola.
Customs authorities discovered the ivory hidden in a container that had been declared as peanuts. The cargo had transited through Singapore before arriving at Haiphong City.
This discovery followed the seizure of over 600 kilograms of African ivory last month at Lach Huyen Port in the same city.
The government has stated that it continues to investigate this case.
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Trafficked ivory from Africa to VietnamTrading in elephant tusks has been banned in Vietnam since 1992, and violators can face fines ranging from 5-50 million VND (equivalent to 213.2 – 2,132 USD) or imprisonment for six months to five years.
Despite the ban, wildlife trafficking remains a widespread problem in Vietnam. Other illegal items that are commonly smuggled into the country include pangolin scales, rhino horns, and tiger carcasses.
Last month, a Vietnamese court sentenced a man to 13 years in prison for trafficking nearly 10 tonnes of endangered animal parts from Africa, including ivory and rhino horns.
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Source: Vietnam Insider