Malaysia exposed as major transit point after seizure of 1,000 elephant tusks

The Star 26 Aug 11;

PETALING JAYA: A container of anchovies headed for Malaysia from Africa turned out to be no small fry. Hidden within the strong smelling anchovies were more than 1,000 elephant tusks.

The killing of more than 500 elephants for the tusks has now turned the spotlight on Malaysia as a significant transit point for the illegal elephant ivory trade.

Wildlife Trade Monitoring Network (Traffic) South-East Asia senior programme officer Kanitha Krishnasamy said Malaysia had been named in the latest Elephant Trade Information System (ETIS) report as “a country of concern”.

“Malaysia has progressively gained prominence in successive ETIS analyses as a transit point for African ivory because of a growing number of illegal shipments passing through its ports,” she said in a statement.

Foreign wires reported yesterday that more than 1,000 elephant tusks destined for Malaysia were seized by Tanzanian authorities on Tuesday.

AFP reported that 1,041 elephant tusks were hidden in a container of anchovies, in the hope that the smell would discourage closer inspection by the authorities.

Krishnasamy said the latest seizure “represented the death of at least 500 elephants”.

She said it was doubtful Malaysia was the end destination of these illegal shipments based on previous seizures in Thailand and Vietnam.

She urged the Wildlife and National Parks Department, Natural Resources and Environment Ministry and the Customs Department to document all ivory stockpiles seized and report the matter to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.

Krishnasamy urged the Govern­ment to work with African nations to put a stop to the trade.

“If we do not act now, we will be contributing to the demise of the wild elephant population,” she added.

Tanzania Police Seize Poached Elephant Tusks
Fumbuka Ng'wanakilala PlanetArk 25 Aug 11;

Tanzanian authorities have seized more than 1,000 elephant tusks hidden in sacks of dried fish at Zanzibar port which were destined for Malaysia, officials said on Wednesday.

Like other countries across sub-Saharan Africa rich with wildlife, Tanzania has suffered from increased poaching in recent years as criminals kill elephants and rhinos for their tusks which are used for ornaments and in some medicines.

A total of 1,041 elephant tusks were stashed in a container with 114 sacks of dried sardines earmarked for export. The tusks nabbed in Zanzibar likely originated from mainland Tanzania.

Two suspects have been arrested and are being questioned, Zanzibar police spokesman Mohammed Mhina said.

"We don't know yet how much the elephant tusks weigh but Interpol officials from Dar es Salaam have arrived to investigate the incident."

Mhina said shipping documents for the container laden with elephant tusks show the consignment was destined for Malaysia.

Rampant poaching in the Serengeti -- a park in north Tanzania famed for its sweeping plains and vistas of Africa's most spectacular wildebeest migration -- in the 1960s and 70s saw the population of black rhinos in the country plummet from over 1,000 to just 70.

Most of the elephant tusks smuggled from the east African nation end up in Asian countries, according to police.

(Editing by Yara Bayoumy)