Kenya seizes ivory

NAIROBI. — Kenyan officials seized nearly two tonnes of smuggled ivory after recalling a shipment en route to Cambodia following intelligence that it contained illegal cargo, a tax official said.The 1.97 tonnes of ivory, valued at $2 million, were hidden in hollow wooden planks and declared as ceramics, David Yego, Kenya Revenue Authority’s commissioner for investigations, said on Wednesday. Authorities in Singapore returned the shipment to Mombasa after Kenya raised the alarm.

Yego expressed concerns that the smugglers had been able to by-pass new security measures designed to stop narcotics and ivory smuggling at the port. “The manner in which the tusks were concealed causes a concern to us, as to the manner in which ivory traffickers are adapting new tactics to avoid detection at ports. — Reuters.