Four tons of African ivory seized in Hong Kong

[superpatriotman]

http://edition.cnn.com/2012/10/20/world/asia/hong-kong-ivory-tusk/index.html



Hong Kong authorities confiscated $26.7 million worth of ivory found in two shipping containers this week.

The illegal goods weighed more than 8,000 pounds, making it one of the biggest seizures of ivory in Hong Kong.

The containers arrived from Tanzania and Kenya, according to Hong Kong customs officials. The agency seized a total of 1,209 pieces of ivory tusks and three pounds of ivory ornaments from the two containers.

Hong Kong Customs was on alert after a tip-off from Guangdong officials in China. On October 16, Hong Kong officers inspected a container from Tanzania claiming to carry plastic scrap and found $13.5 million worth of ivory. A day later, a second container from Kenya was seized with ivory valued at $13.2 million, according to Hong Kong Customs.

Seven people, including one Hong Kong resident, have been arrested by Chinese authorities in connection to the cases, said a customs spokeswoman.

[ladjf]

1. A forty yr. jail sentence sounds about right, plus a 200,000 fine. nt

[Faygo Kid]

2. Glad for the arrests, but still heartbreaking.

The older I get, the more I'm convinced that we are a greedy species that is going to destroy this planet.

[angstlessk]

3. I hope they preserve it..and not destroy it...the animals gave their lives for that ivory

put it in a vault...keep it...preserve it for the future in case there is none left in the world.

[raven42]

4. I remember reading an article within

the last couple of months that was discussing how many religious items are made out of this (e.g., rosaries). I could be wrong, perhaps it wasn't ivory; but it was one of these materials that is taken from endangered species in Africa. Really tragic and disgusting. People wanting their precious little religious trinkets so badly that they don't mind wiping out other species to get it.

[amborin]

5. heartbreaking...kill poachers on sight...only thing that works