Hong Kong seizes record haul of rhino horns

AFP Yahoo News 15 Nov 11;

Hong Kong Customs officers have seized a record haul of 33 rhino horns along with ivory chopsticks and bracelets hidden inside a container shipped from South Africa, officials said on Tuesday.

Officers found the horns along with 758 ivory chopsticks and 127 ivory bracelets in a haul worth a total of about HK$17.4 million ($2.2 million) during a search Monday of a container declared as containing "scrap plastic".

Senior Customs official Lam Tak-fai told RTHK radio the horns were carefully wrapped in multiple layers of materials and hidden in the rear of the container.

"We think the smugglers wanted to make it look like waste plastic material so as to evade Customs detection," he said, adding the haul was believed to have been destined for a neighbouring country.

Lam said rhino horns had been seized in Hong Kong in the past but never in such large quantities.

"Altogether we have 86.54 kilograms of rhino horns, it's a record seizure so far in Customs history," he said.

Conservation group WWF said earlier this month that rhino poaching in South Africa had hit a record high, with 341 of the animals lost to poachers so far this year as black-market demand for their horns soars.

Officials blame the poaching surge on organised crime syndicates selling rhino horn for use in Asian medicinal treatments -- especially in Vietnam, where it is believed to cure cancer.

The UN wildlife trade regulator has called for stiffer penalties for poachers, with the price of a rhino horn per kilo fetching around $50,000 ($23,000 per pound).

Under Hong Kong law, anyone found guilty of importing endangered species for commercial purposes is liable to a maximum fine of HK$5 million and two years' imprisonment.

No one has been arrested so far and Lam said the investigation was continuing.

Hong Kong rhino horn seizure a unique enforcement opportunity—TRAFFIC
TRAFFIC 16 Nov 11;

Cambridge, UK, 16th November 2011—Tuesday’s seizure by Hong Kong Customs of 33 rhino horns, 758 ivory chopsticks and 127 ivory bracelets concealed inside a container shipped to Hong Kong from Cape Town, South Africa, provides a unique opportunity to gain insights into the criminal syndicates trafficking wildlife goods between Africa and Asia, according to TRAFFIC.

TRAFFIC supports the South African Department of Environmental Affairs in requesting the authorities in Hong Kong to send DNA samples of the seized goods to the Veterinary Genetics Laboratory at the University of Pretoria in South Africa for examination.

If the horn samples can be matched with records in the rhino DNA database it may be possible to identify the individual animals that were poached for their horns.

“Such an effort could yield major clues about who is behind this consignment,” said Tom Milliken, TRAFFIC’s rhino expert.

This is the largest rhino horn seizure made in the current poaching crisis. Viet Nam is considered the pre-eminent contemporary market for rhino horn in Asia, and authorities in Viet Nam have previously seized rhino horn transported from Hong Kong by air, but the scale and method of transport suggest the shipment may have been destined elsewhere.

“The fact worked ivory was also present suggests the 33 rhino horns were likely destined for the greater Chinese market,” Milliken added.

“That’s a very worrying development given the scale of this seizure, and an important indication that the Chinese market is becoming an active phenomenon in rhino horn trafficking.”

No arrests have so far been made, although authorities in Hong Kong have confirmed the horns are genuine and say investigations are ongoing.

Under Hong Kong’s Import and Export Ordinance, any person found guilty of importing unmanifested cargoes is liable to a maximum fine of HKD2 million (USD257,000) and imprisonment for seven years.

In addition, under the Protection of Endangered Species of Animals and Plants Ordinance, any person found guilty of importing endangered species for commercial purposes is liable to a maximum fine of HKD5 million (USD642,000) and imprisonment for two years.

“This case highlights the need for South African Port Authorities to invest in scanning equipment and up their game in terms of surveillance of the country’s export cargo,” says Markus Burgener of TRAFFIC’s fisheries programme. The port of Cape Town is also a major conduit for illegal shipments of abalone to Hong Kong.