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16 jailed over HK$7.9m ivory haul
PUBLISHED : Friday, 25 July, 2014, 3:42am
UPDATED : Friday, 25 July, 2014, 3:42am
Danny Mok and Chris Lau
A group of 16 Vietnamese nationals arrested in Hong Kong's biggest airborne ivory-smuggling case were yesterday jailed for six months each. Photo: Felix Wong
A group of 16 Vietnamese nationals arrested in Hong Kong's biggest airborne ivory-smuggling case were yesterday jailed for six months each, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department said.
The 10 men and six women, aged between 20 and 54, were sentenced at Tsuen Wan Court, the department said. It did not reveal how they pleaded or name them.
The group were picked up at the airport on June 10 on their way from Angola via Ethiopia and Hong Kong to Cambodia after customs officers found 790kg of ivory packed into 32 piece of luggage. Customs officials said the goods - in high demand in mainland China and Southeast Asia - could have fetched up to HK$7.9 million.
It was the biggest ever seizure of ivory brought in by plane and came amid growing concern in the city about its role in the international ivory trade.
Seizures hit an all-time high of 8,041kg last year, up 43 per cent on 2012. It prompted concerns that the city was becoming a stopover point for smugglers taking ivory from Africa to Asia.
On May 15, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department began burning some of the 33 tonnes of illegal ivory seized between 2000 and last year after years of debate about how to dispose of it.
All but five tonnes of seized ivory will be destroyed in the next two years.
While the undeclared import and export of ivory is illegal under the Endangered Species Ordinance, trade remains legal and registered dealers can export ivory dating back to before a global ban was imposed in 1989.
A spokesman for the department urged people to be aware of items covered by the law on imports of endangered species, and not to bring back souvenirs if they were unsure of their legality.
Under the ordinance, a person found guilty of trading in or possessing an endangered species without a licence can be fined up to HK$5 million and jailed for up to two years.
