Rhino horns seized at the airport (Source: VNA) HCM City (VNA) – Customs officers at Tan Son Nhat InternationalAirport in Ho Chi Minh City, in cooperation with relevant forces, on July 15arrested a Vietnamese man who had been on a flight from Angola and illegallytransporting 12 rhino horns weighing over seven kilogrammes in total.
According to the customs sub-department at the Tan Son Nhat airport,these are the horns of very rare African double-horned rhinos, which have beenbanned from trading, exporting and exporting under the Convention onInternational Trade on Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Thevalue of the exhibits is estimated at nearly 8 billion VND (352,000 USD) in thefree market.
The 41-year-old man hid the rhino horns in formula milk, food and clothesboxes in an attempt to escape authorized forces’ notice.
The customs officers are completing procedures to prosecute the case andworking with relevant agencies to further investigate the smuggling ring andthe man’s violations.
Last month, customs officers at Noi Bai International Airport also foundrhino horns and wild animals’ fangs in the luggage of a Vietnamese woman whohad been on a flight from Bangkok to Hanoi.
All of the seized exhibits were then transferred to the Vietnam Academyof Science and Technology’s Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources forassessment. The smuggler and the exhibits were later handed over to Soc Sondistrict police.
There are only 25,000 wild rhinos in the world, with the populationdropping by 95 percent over the last four decades.
Conservationists have warned that rhinos will become extinct within thenext 10 years if poaching is not stopped. The last Java rhino in Vietnam waskilled at Cat Tien National Park in 2010.-VNA
According to the customs sub-department at the Tan Son Nhat airport,these are the horns of very rare African double-horned rhinos, which have beenbanned from trading, exporting and exporting under the Convention onInternational Trade on Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Thevalue of the exhibits is estimated at nearly 8 billion VND (352,000 USD) in thefree market.
The 41-year-old man hid the rhino horns in formula milk, food and clothesboxes in an attempt to escape authorized forces’ notice.
The customs officers are completing procedures to prosecute the case andworking with relevant agencies to further investigate the smuggling ring andthe man’s violations.
Last month, customs officers at Noi Bai International Airport also foundrhino horns and wild animals’ fangs in the luggage of a Vietnamese woman whohad been on a flight from Bangkok to Hanoi.
All of the seized exhibits were then transferred to the Vietnam Academyof Science and Technology’s Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources forassessment. The smuggler and the exhibits were later handed over to Soc Sondistrict police.
There are only 25,000 wild rhinos in the world, with the populationdropping by 95 percent over the last four decades.
Conservationists have warned that rhinos will become extinct within thenext 10 years if poaching is not stopped. The last Java rhino in Vietnam waskilled at Cat Tien National Park in 2010.-VNA
VNA
