Smuggled African Ivory Seized In Bangkok, Thailand

BANGKOK — Thai authorities on Friday displayed a ton of illicitly smuggled African elephant ivory and rhino horns seized at Bangkok's airport, a haul described as a victory for better international intelligence sharing among wildlife officials.

The Customs Department says the 118 tusks and 50 additional cut pieces of ivory, along with three rhino horns weighing a total of 6 pounds (2.7 kilograms) are worth more than $1.7 million.

The tusks were found Wednesday at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport in 11 boxes declared as crafts, after a roundabout journey from Lagos, Nigeria via Doha, Qatar and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

"Nigeria, despite having few elephants within its borders, is a major departure point for poached ivory from Africa," said FREELAND, a Bangkok-based NGO that fights wildlife and human trafficking.

The group said the seizure was the sixth law enforcement action against ivory smugglers since an intelligence sharing meeting between Thai and African wildlife officials late last year.

It said U.S. agencies, including the Fish and Wildlife Service, supported the cooperation, and more such meetings would be held in Africa this year.

Comments

[anothervoter]

05:41 PM on 02/27/2011

Some victory.
Those animals no longer walk the earth.

[nomadrdw]

03:25 PM on 02/27/2011

and every single ounce of it headed to China.

[fishin4u]

11:02 PM on 02/26/2011

How can this be a victory?
Are the elephants and rhinos raised from the dead and now standing in line to reclaim their missing body parts?

FISH...................

[rjmtx]

03:10 PM on 02/26/2011

Nothing regarding the killing of the elephants and rhinos was stopped. They were already killed. Their parts were intercepted, but this is a victory when the poachers are stopped. Not the smugglers down the line. It just created a hole in the market that has already been filled with someone else looking to make money. We could also stop the demand for the products, but as a realist, I'd say that's almost impossible.

Anyway, the world faces a severe shortage of habitat, and saving individuals really does very little in the long run. With the proper habitat, living things seem to do alright. That's the short answer.

[Edy Williams]

02:55 PM on 02/26/2011

Yes,you have it EZACTLY right. We always see the END result of this ongoing tragedy., it's never "HERE are the KILLERS WE CAUGHT!" Lets see their faces up here.!

[Edy Williams]

02:52 PM on 02/26/2011

When the day comes a Giant Penalty for this devasting crime, if it ever takes place,it will dwindle down. Years,years we see these "tropy?" crap,Never hear of Prison time. Yet compare it to a pedafile, just talking to an impersonator online as an underage, THEY DO PRISON TIME. These people have to be doing Under the table payoffs. Maybe more catholic Police should be hired. They do not put $$ first. What bout trials? All that.

[Trickish Knave]

11:13 AM on 02/26/2011

I don't think it was much of a victory for the elephants any more than the DEA confiscating a few bags of cocaine. The problem lies further upstream.

[conservicide]

02:24 AM on 02/26/2011

execute buyers, execute sellers, execute poachers.

[mudshark12]

12:40 AM on 02/26/2011

Its only a victory if the smugglers are jailed.

[Moxo]

09:20 PM on 02/25/2011

Considering the animals they came from are dead, I'd hardly call it a "major victory", HuffPo.