Elephant tusk trafficking goes online in Fujian

Want China Times, Staff Reporter 2014-04-27

Chinese customs seize elephant tusks in Liaoning. (Photo/Xinhua)

The illicit ivory trafficking industry has moved online in China due to police crackdowns on brick-and-mortar trading, according to the Chinese-language Chongqing Youth News.

A reporter from the newspaper traveled to Baxia, a village in Fujian province and a place where redwood furniture sales serve as a front for an illicit online ivory business.

The elephant tusks businesses are a family business. The men who quit school learn to carve the ivory, while women learn to polish. The mother would be in charge of looking after the shop, along with other women who stay at home to take care of children.

The family business model reduces the risks of anyone selling secrets, or worse, selling the family to police authorities for a large compensation, said the report. Elephant tusk carving is closely related to redwood carpentry in Baxia, because both fields require high precision and use similar tools.

Shop owners said they only do business with clients they have known for a very long time, because the police are clamping down on the business.

A police raid on March 2 caught two suspects and seized almost a hundred elephant tusks. The elephant tusks products sold in Baxia mostly come from Africa, said the report.

The marketing of the products is done through social networking platforms, such as QQ, where dealers take photos showing the specifications of the products, such as weight, length and appearance. People who are interested contact the dealer.