Press Release
For Immediate Release
Contact: [email protected]
December 21, 2016
Cell: 012-885-727
“Cambodia Busts Major Ivory Smuggling From Mozambique to China”
Kandal, Cambodia: In one of the largest seizures of illegal animal parts ever recorded, the Cambodian
government busted 1.3 metric tons of African elephant tusks on December 16, 2016. The smuggled
animal parts were hidden in the mists of 116 rare timber logs shipped in three different containers from
Pemba, Mozambique. It took three days for the officers from Customs, Wildlife Alliance, and the U.S.
Embassy to excavate the 640 elephant tusks and tusk pieces, 10 cheetah skulls and 82 kgs of bones, and
137 kgs of pangolin scales (or 3,498 pounds), ensconced in a heavy, white wax substance and cleverly
concealed inside three wooden coffins.
Under the blazing sun at the Kandal port, a team of 20 had to boil the wax off thousands of body parts,
using 5 large metal vats over charcoal fire, then clean and mark each piece for inventory. This task was
completed today.
“We are a wildlife policing organization, specializing in countering the pan-Asian illegal wildlife trade,”
said Suwanna Gauntlett, CEO of Wildlife Alliance. “The trade is decimating the wild populations
throughout Asia. For example, Sunda pangolin used to be a common species in Cambodia 16 years ago,
but today are almost extinct from smuggling to China. They are marked as critically endangered on the
International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list.”
The suspect is still at large, a Vietnamese national specializing in illegal wildlife trafficking between Africa
and China. This is the second case where illegal wildlife shipped by CAM TRANSIT IMPORT CO., LTD. has
been intercepted this year: the first case was a 1,000 kg of ivory en route for Cambodia, seized by Ho Chi
Minh Customs on October 26. The second is this case, intercepted by Cambodian Customs on Dec. 16.
This is the 19th bust on ivory and rhino horn since 2014, from 6 different African countries. Before,
Cambodia has been known for its easy transit of illicit goods through porous borders, most of the goods
en-route for China. Now, due to the recent busts, the Cambodian government is tightening its law
enforcement on illegal wildlife smuggled by sea, air and land.
Director of Customs at Kandal dry port, Mr. Kdov Nuch, where the interception was conducted, said in
conclusion of the case: “This is a huge case with too many dead elephants. We should be seeking justice
for these animals.”
Wildlife Alliance, Street 123 #86, Sangat Toul Tompong 1, Khan Chamcarmom, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
www.wildlifealliance.org
www.facebook.com/WildlifeAllianceCambodia/
អង្គ ការសម្ព ័ន្ធម្ិត្តសត្វ ព្រៃ