Beijing (VNA) – Customs officers in the Chinese Guangxi Zhuang AutonomousRegion have confiscated 368.5 kg of ivory, which were trafficked from Africainto the country via its border with Vietnam.
Threesuspects were detained at scene. The 165 elephant tusks, worth over 29 millionCNY (4.4 million USD), were illegally transported to Pingxiang city on thenight of November 13 and were captured by customs officers the next day, a Nanningofficial said on December 8. Nanning is the capital of the region.
Accordingto China’s State Forestry Administration, in 2016, the amount of smuggled ivoryseized in China dropped by 80 percent from previous peak years.
Thelocal law stipulates that the smuggling of precious animal products worth morethan 1 million CNY can be punished with over 10 years in prison or a lifesentence.
Chinawill stop commercial processing and sales of ivory by the end of this year.-VNA