Hong Kong Customs recently launched a joint anti-smuggling operation with the Guangdong Sub-Administration of China Customs which smashed a major ivory smuggling case, according to a communiqué of 20 October 2012.
During the operation, Hong Kong Customs seized a total of 1,209 pieces of ivory tusks weighing 3.81 kg and 1.4 kg of ivory ornaments concealed inside two containers shipped from Africa to Hong Kong.
Acting on information provided by Guangdong Customs, Hong Kong Customs monitored two suspicious containers shipped from Kenya and Tanzania.
On 16 October, Customs officers inspected the container from Tanzania which was declared as containing "plastic scrap". Upon examination they found 972 pieces of raw ivory tusks weighing about 1.92 kg and 1.4 kg of ivory ornaments inside 91 bags of scrap plastic.
The following day, Hong Kong Customs inspected the container from Kenya which was declared as containing "roscoco beans". The examination revealed a total of 237 pieces of raw ivory tusks, weighing about 1.88 kg, hidden inside 50 bags of "roscoco beans".
In November 2011 Hong Kong Customs discovered 33 rhino horns weighing 86.5 kg, 758 ivory chopsticks weighing 13.2 kg and 127 ivory bracelets weighing 9.2 kg in a container declared as containing “scrap plastic” that had arrived from South Africa.
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Hong Kong Customs