July 6 (UPI) -- Hong Kong customs officials seized ivory elephant tusks valued at $9 million, prompting the arrests of three people, officials announced Thursday.
The suspects allegedly hid the illegally traded elephant tusks in a 40-foot container under frozen fish aboard a ship headed for Malaysia. Customs officials seized the 7.2-ton haul Tuesday at the Kwai Chung Customhouse Cargo Examination Compound in Kowloon.
Those arrested at a trading company include one man and two women whose names were not reported.
The seizure comes after China announced a plan to completely outlaw the sale of ivory in 2017. The ivory trade remains legal in Hong Kong, though; the city has developed a reputation as the heart of the global ivory trade, CNN said Thursday.
Trade in ivory has slowed internationally since a 1989 treaty banned it, although Hong Kong shops can still sell ivory which predates the treaty. Conservationists have said traders use the legal trade as a cover to sell newer ivory in China, the largest ivory market in the world, the South China Morning Post reported.
"This massive seizure once again shows that Hong Kong is a major hub for illegal wildlife trade," said Cheryl Lo of the World Wildlife Federation-Hong Kong senior wildlife crime officer. "We are calling on lawmakers to end this brutal trade as soon as possible. With over 20,000 elephants killed in Africa every year, there is no time to waste."
