China seizes 156 mammoth tusks in huge ivory haul

531

BEIJING, July 19, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Chinese customs authorities said they
seized 156 prehistoric mammoth tusks from a truck entering from Russia in one
of the country’s largest such hauls.

The contraband was seized in late April at a border crossing in
northeastern China’s Heilongjiang province bordering on Siberia, but the find
was only announced this week by Chinese customs, state media said.

The haul, which also included two elephant tusks and a range of other
animal parts, was hidden under a shipment of soybeans.

Eight suspects, including Russians and Chinese, have been arrested, the
People’s Daily said.

China banned the sale and processing of elephant ivory last year after
having banned its import in 2015.

This, along with global efforts to stamp out the ivory trade to save
elephants from extinction, have led smugglers to turn to a stock of ancient
mammoth tusks buried mostly in Siberia but also Europe and North America.

The People’s Daily said the shipment as a whole was one of China’s largest
involving animal parts in recent years.

The official Xinhua news agency said the inventory included “two elephant
tusks, 1,276 antelope horns, 156 mammoth tusks, 406 walrus tusks, 226 narwhal
tusks, as well as gall bladders and bear teeth and 320 kilos of sea
cucumbers.”

A wide variety of animal parts are sought after in China as traditional
medicines or for other uses, while ivory carving is an ancient art in the
country.

The latest seizure’s estimated value was 106 million yuan ($15.7 million),
Xinhua said, adding that an investigation was under way.