A total of 6.6 tons of elephant ivory and pangolin scales have been found hidden in a container arriving in Da Nang’s Tien Sa Port from Nigeria, authorities at the Da Nang Department of Customs said on Friday.

The city's customs officials are inspecting the imported shipment suspected of being ivory and pangolin scales. Photo: M.QUE

Specifically, through professional measures, custom officials at the Da Nang Port chapter of the Da Nang Customs Department discovered a suspicious shipment hidden in the container coded GESU6160232 under bill of lading 212882912 which was transported from Nigeria and arrived at the Tien Sa Port in Da Nang on January 5, 2022.

The sender had registered the content of the container as cashew nuts. But it was suspected to contain ivory and pangolin scales.

On January 11, custom officials at the Da Nang Port chapter teamed up with officers the Customs Enforcement Team, the city-based Anti-Smuggling Control Team in Central Viet Nam, and the Economic Crime Investigation Division under the municipal Department of Public Security, to inspect the shipping container that supposedly contained ivory and pangolin scales.

After 3 days of conducting inspections, the functional forces discovered more than 456 kilos of suspected ivory and 6.2 tons of suspected pangolin scales on the list of wild animals and plants specified in the annexes of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES).

The case is under investigation.

Reporting by M.QUE - Translating by M.DUNG