AP reported that on July 6, the Thai Customs Department confiscated 250kg of ivory in a wooden crate being illegally transported from Congo to Laos at Suvarnabhumi airport in Bangkok.

Thai Customs Department Deputy Director General Chamroen Photiyod said he received information about a shipment of ivory being illegally transported from Congo to Asia and immediately followed up on the case after it left Addis Ababa transit airport in Ethiopia.

AP reported that the shipment of ivory was seized when it arrived at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Thailand. Authorities discovered 250kg of ivory hidden in four suitcases, inside two wooden crates that were declared to “contain marble”.

“If this ivory smuggling case had been successful, it would have generated profits worth about $295,000. Ivory smuggling is becoming more and more alarming as this is the 11th illegal shipment seized in Thailand this year,” said Mr. Chamroen.

(According to AP/TTO)