Over $4.1 million worth of ivory was seized by customs officials in Dubai as it passed through the Jebel Ali Port. The 215 pieces of ivory was hidden in 40 boxes of green beans. Customs officials estimate that the ivory come from 108 elephants of differing ages.
Officials were unable to confirm which country the tusks came from. The tusks were discovered following an X-ray scan of the containers which raised suspicions and a manual search was undertaken.
It’s thought that the ivory was en route to the Far East as Dubai is part of a major regional trading hub and so attracts its fair share of illegally trafficked wildlife. Earlier in the year over a tonne of ivory was seized in Sri Lanka as it was on its way to Dubai in an attempt to smuggle tusks through the country.
Saeed Ahmed Al Tayer, Director of Jebel Ali Customs Centre said, “A large amount of ivory tusks, extracted from around 108 elephants of different ages, were identified during the manual search. The vigilant and intensively trained Customs inspectors have efficiently thwarted the attempt.”
This year has been a particularly bad year for elephants as poaching heads towards level not seen since there was an international ban placed on the trade in ivory through the CITES regulations.
Last year over 24 tonnes of illegal ivory was seized from around the world and 2012 is on course to see even more ivory being intercepted as smugglers try to ply their trade across the globe.
