Thailand’s police announced on Monday (May 11th) the bust of the largest scale ivory smuggling case in a decade, seizing 250 kilograms of African ivory and arresting 9 suspects.
The anti-wildlife smuggling department of Thailand stated that after months of investigation, police carried out simultaneous raids last Thursday (May 7th) in seven provinces nationwide, successfully confiscating this batch of ivory materials and related products, totaling 250 kilograms, with an estimated market value of around $300,000. It is suspected that this ivory was smuggled into Thailand from Africa by sea.
Thailand has long been seen as a crucial transit point for wildlife smuggling, with many endangered species and their products frequently entering the high-priced black markets in Asia.
Patompong Thongchamroon from the National Police Environmental Crime Division of Thailand mentioned that this is the largest quantity of ivory seized in Thailand in the past decade.
Patompong revealed that an enforcement officer had earlier discovered a private group on the social media platform Facebook that was suspected of selling smuggled African ivory. After months of investigation, the police identified and successfully arrested 9 Thai group administrators. They were responsible for posting ivory sales information and contacting buyers.
Authorities pointed out that the seized items included whole ivory tusks, cut sections of tusks, numerous prayer beads, jewelry, and knife handles made of ivory. The main buyers of this illegal ivory are from Thailand and Vietnam.
According to the police statement, the group has been charged with illegally possessing and trading in protected wildlife products, facing a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison or a fine of up to 1 million Thai baht (about $30,000), or both.
Under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), international ivory trade has been completely banned since 1990. Both the Asian and African elephants, considered national treasures in Thailand, are listed as endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).