Vietnam police discover smuggled elephant tusk
HANOI - Police in Vietnam have uncovered a 730 kilogramme (1,600 pound) haul of smuggled elephant tusks, the largest amount of ivory ever discovered in the communist nation, state media said Sunday. The tusks, hidden in around 40 sacks of dried fish, were discovered in Hanoi on Saturday when police searched a truck, the Nhan Dan newspaper said. The tusks were not from Vietnamese elephants but had been smuggled into the country, it added.
The truck driver was arrested but police said they were seeking to question a Hanoi-based couple who allegedly owned the illegal consignment. Wildlife experts say there are no more than 45,000 Asian elephants remaining, with 60 per cent of them in India. In Vietnam, there are less than 100 surviving elephants, both in the wild and in captivity.
Agence France Presse - 6 Decembre 2004
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