Illustrative image. (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – The Hanoi People’s Court on May 4 sentenced PhamVan Luat, a resident in Hai Phong City, to 12 years in prison for illegallytransporting ivory, a type of banned goods, under Clause 1, Article 155 of thePenal Code.
On August 12, 2015, anti-smuggling police and the customs force at theNoi Bai international airport in Hanoi carried a check of Luat’s luggage afterhe arrived on a flight from Luanda (Angola). They found in his suitcase 24chunks of ivory and a number of ivory bangles, weighing 50.6 kg in total.
When the ivory was detected, Luat fled the airport. More than one yearlater, on December 22, 2016, he handed himself in to police and admitted hisviolation of law.
Luat told the police that he was paid 200 USD to carry the ivory fromLuanda to Vietnam by a man named Quang, who he made acquaintance of whileworking in Angola.
The seized ivory was found to be tusks of the Loxodonta Africanaelephant, a species listed in Appendix I of the Convention on InternationalTrade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
A separate investigation will be launched into the man named Quang, asthe police has not obtained accurate information on his identity andaddress.-VNA
VNA
