Vietnamese customs and police officers on Monday seized around seven tons of ivory smuggled from Angola, considered the largest wildlife smuggling case in years.
The task forces uncovered the tusks at Nam Dinh Vu Port in the northern port city of Hai Phong, northern Vietnam. They were in one of the three containers departing from Angola and transiting via Singapore, declared to customs as peanuts, the General Department of Customs said, adding that the case is under further investigation.
The shipment description is in uncommon language while consignee information is incorrect, according to customs officers.
The tusks seized are included in Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which lists species that are the most endangered among CITES-listed animals and plants.