Yahoo – AFP,
3 April 2014
This
handout photograph released by the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of
Singapore on April 3, 2014 shows a collection of ivory seized by authorities
(AFP Photo/Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority)
|
This
handout photograph released by the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of
Singapore on April 3, 2014 shows a collection of ivory seized by authorities
Singapore
(AFP) - Singapore authorities said Thursday they had intercepted about one
tonne of ivory worth $1.6 million in a shipping container from Africa marked as
carrying coffee berries.
The seizure
was made in an export inspection station at the Pasir Panjang port on March 25
following a tip-off, Singapore Customs and the Agri-Food and Veterinary
Authority (AVA) said in a statement.
"The
shipment, which was declared as coffee berries, was transiting through
Singapore from Africa in a 20-foot (six-metre) container and destined for
another Asian country," the statement said.
The
shipment contained 106 pieces of raw ivory tusks weighing about one tonne, it
said.
The
statement did not mention if arrests had been made, but said investigations are
ongoing.
International
trade in ivory has been banned under the Convention on International Trade in
Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) since 1989.
Singapore,
a major global port, is a signatory to the convention.
The
statement urged shipping and logistics firms in Singapore to "exercise
prudence" when accepting jobs from customers to avoid being implicated in
illegal wildlife trafficking.
The ivory
haul last week is the third largest by Singapore authorities since 2002.
In January
last year, 1.8 tonnes of ivory from Africa was seized in the city-state, while
six tonnes of raw ivory tusks and cut pieces were intercepted in 2002.
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