Discovery
of 1,026 tusks at Phnom Penh port follows a tip from the US embassy
Agence
France-Presse
Sun 16
Dec 2018 06.04 GMTLast modified on Sun 16 Dec
2018 18.50 GMT
Cambodia
seized more than 3.2 tonnes of elephant tusks hidden in a storage container
sent from Mozambique,
a customs official said on Sunday, marking the country’s largest ivory bust.
The
discovery of 1,026 tusks at the Phnom Penh port followed a tip from the US
embassy, the official said, and highlights Cambodia’s emergence as a key
regional transit point for the multibillion dollar trade in illicit wildlife.
“The
elephant tusks were hidden among marble in a container that was abandoned,” Sun
Chhay, director of the customs and excise office at the port, said.
He said
the ivory was sent from the southern African nation of Mozambique and arrived
at the port last year.
The
unidentified owner of the shipment did not arrive to pick up the cargo.
Pictures of the massive haul showed long rows of confiscated tusks spread out
on the ground at the port.
Sun Chhay
said he did not know whether the shipment was destined for markets in other
countries.
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