The seized exhibits (photo: VNA) Three pieces of horns were discovered in the luggage of a 20 year-old man, aVietnamese national, flying from Africa to Vietnam. They were stored inpersonal items and hidden in children’s toy boxes.
The value of the horns was estimated at about 2 billion VND (88,000 USD).
The case is being prosecuted and Customs at Tan Son Nhat International Airport willwork with relevant authorities on the investiagation.
Last month, the airport’s customs, the Police Department for SmugglingPrevention and the Police Department for Economic Crime Investigation discoveredfive kilogrammes of rhino horns and more than 4 kilogrammes of products madefrom African elephant’s tusks and pangolin scales.
There are only 25,000 wild rhinos in the world at present, with the populationdropping by 95 percent over the last four decades. South Africa is home to some20,000 rhinos, or 80 percent of the total.
Up to 1,175 rhinos were poached in the country in 2015, down slightly from therecord of 1,215 in 2014. However, many experts believe that the true number ofpoached rhinos is much higher.
Poachingis attributed to rising demand for rhino horns in some Asian countries,including Vietnam, since many people in these nations believe that rhino hornscan cure illness, a claim not corroborated by science.
Conservationists have warned that rhinos will become extinct within the next 10years if poaching is not stopped. The last Java rhino in Vietnam was killed atCat Tien National Park in 2010.-VNA
VNA
