Hong Kong authorities have confiscated two shipping containers from Tanzania and Kenya loaded with jumbo tusks worth $3.4 million (about Sh5.4billion).
This incident involving ivory weighing more than 3,628kg, could affect the country’s attempt to release into the international market its huge stock.
Hong Kong customs officials as saying the containers arrived from Tanzania and Kenya. The agency seized a total of 1,209 pieces of ivory tusks and three pounds of ornaments from the two containers.
The Hong Kong Customs department was kept on alert after a tip-off from Guangdong officials in China. On October 16, Hong Kong officers inspected a container from Tanzania purporting to contain plastic scrap and found $1.7 million worth of ivory.
A day later, a second container from Kenya was seized with ivory valued at $1.7 million, according to Hong Kong Customs.
Seven people, including one Hong Kong resident, have been arrested by Chinese authorities in connection with the cases, said a customs spokeswoman.
Hong Kong is viewed as a transit point for the illegal ivory trade, feeding into increasing demands in China, according to an article published this week.
Elephants are being killed in Africa at an alarming rate as international demand for ivory soars. Much of the demand comes from increasingly affluent Asian countries, particularly China and Thailand.
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