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Vietnam seizes massive haul of rhino horns, elephant tusks

Xinhua, April 17, 2015 Adjust font size:

Vietnamese customs seized 65.42 kg of rhino horns and elephant tusks sent from France via airline route earlier on Thursday.

The seizure includes 18 tusks weighing 60.56 kg which may belong to African elephants, and three rhino horns weighing 4.86 kg, an online newspaper of Vietnam Customs said on Friday.

The seized horns and tusks were sent in two packages from France to Vietnam's capital Hanoi on a flight of Vietnam Airlines coded VN 018.

The sender's address is from France's Paris while the recipient is Express Mail Service (EMS) office at Noi Bai Airport, said the report.

A customs officer quoted in the report as saying that this was the first time such prohibited goods had been sent from a European country to Vietnam instead of directly from Africa.

The officer added that on the black market, a gram of rhino horn could be sold for 133 U.S. dollars while price of a kilogram of elephant tusk, especially from an African elephant, could be 2, 100 U.S. dollars.

Trade of wildlife and wildlife products is banned in Vietnam. Relevant authorities are investigating the case. Endi