Vietnam: 7 tons of ivory seized in a container supposedly carrying peanuts. On Monday, Vietnamese authorities announced that they had seized seven tons of ivory taken from elephants in Angola. These were found by customs in the northern port of Haiphong in a container supposedly carrying peanuts, according to the official bill.

Vietnam: 7 tons of ivory seized in a container supposedly carrying peanuts

Vietnamese authorities announced Monday that they had seized seven tons of ivory taken from elephants in Angola, the largest such shipment intercepted in recent years. The ivory was found by customs in the northern port of Haiphong in a container supposedly carrying peanuts, according to the official log.

Photos released by the customs department showed hundreds of long ivory tusks stacked in front of an open container.

The shipment was sent to Vietnam via Singapore, authorities said.

“Trade in ivory is illegal in Vietnam but wildlife trafficking remains widespread. Other items often found smuggled into the country include pangolin scales, rhino horns and tiger carcasses. Customs authorities in Haiphong City on Monday found the ivory hidden in a container declared to customs as peanuts, the government said in a statement, adding that the cargo had transited via Singapore”, Reuters reported.

Ivory trade banned since 1992

Elephant tusks and other body parts are prized as talismans and used in traditional medicine in some parts of Asia, although there is no scientific evidence of such medicinal properties. Vietnam officially banned the ivory trade in 1992, but the country remains a hub for illegal wildlife transport in Asia.

More than 60 tons of ivory, pangolin scales and rhino horns have been seized at Vietnamese seaports since 2018, according to a 2021 report by Education for Nature Vietnam, a wildlife protection NGO.