Acting
on a tip from customs officials in mainland China, authorities at Hong Kong's
port confiscated 1,120 ivory tusks, 13 rhino horns and five leopard skins
weighing a total of 2,266 kilograms (4,997 pounds), said Vincent Wong, customs'
head of ports and maritime command.
They
were found Tuesday in 21 crates hidden in a container full of wood that
originated in Nigeria, he said. Wong said the shipment changed vessels in
Shanghai before arriving in Hong Kong, but he did not believe the former
British colony was the final destination.
Wildlife
activists say China's growing presence in Africa is to blame for an
unprecedented surge in poaching of elephants for their tusks, most of which are
believed to be smuggled into China and Thailand to make ivory ornaments.
According
to CITES, the international body that monitors endangered species, the illegal
trade in ivory has more than doubled since 2007. Ivory
can fetch up to $2,000 per kilogram ($910 per pound) on the black market and
more than $50,000 for an entire tusk.
Last month, more than 2 tons of elephant tusks worth an estimated $2.25 million
found in a container from Togo were confiscated by Hong Kong customs officials,
who said it was the city's biggest ivory seizure since 2010. In January,
officials confiscated an ivory shipment worth $1.4 million that came from
Kenya, which followed two big ivory seizures last fall.
Demand
for rhino horn is driven by the belief in Asia that the ground-up horn cures
diseases, which is not supported by medical evidence. Rhino horn is made of
keratin, a tough protein found in human fingernails.
No
one has been arrested.
Under
Hong Kong law, anyone found guilty of trading in products from endangered
species faces up to two years in prison and a fine of up to $645,000.
Photo by Lam Yik Fei/Getty Images
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