The 739 pieces of ivory were found stashed in several containers hidden in bags of dried beans. The containers arrived on April 18, and the country of origin proved to be the Democratic Republic of Congo said Thai authorities. The shipment was bound for Laos.
In a statement by the Thai Customs Department, it was reported: “The pieces weigh around 4,000 kilogrammes (four tonnes) and are worth around 200 million baht (US$6 million)… it is the biggest ivory seizure in Thai history.”
Authorities believe that once the shipment had reached Laos, the ivory would have been sold to buyers in China, Vietnam or even brought back into Thailand, countries where ivory ornaments are sought after and highly prized, despite the elephant being an endangered species.
The ivory bust comes after Thailand, a major stopping point for the illegal trade in ivory, has come under increasing pressure to crack down and put a stop to the ivory trade. The country has a lot to lose if this ivory smuggling is not halted.
Thailand was given until the end of August this year to take stronger measures to bring a halt to ivory smuggling or face sanctions by the Convention on the International Trade on Endangered Species (CITES). Sanctions would impact on Thailand’s legal trade in species covered by CITES, including exotic wood and ornamental plants, like orchids.
Interestingly, in Thailand it is legal to trade in ivory from domesticated elephants, but a loophole in the law enacted in January of 2015 makes it easy for criminals to launder poached elephant ivory throughout the country. According to CITES, in 2013, over 20,000 elephants were killed for the ivory. There are only about 500,000 elephants left in the wild, and the population could be wiped out a only a few decades.