More rhino horn, dead tigers found in Vietnam

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Linh Pham 18:02, 2019/07/29

Vietnam is struggling to crack down on non-domesticated animal smuggling and trade.

About 125 kilograms of rhino horn and dead tigers have been found in Vietnam, lengthening the list of non-domesticated animals in wildlife trade in the Southeast Asian country.

Seven tiger carcasses were seized by police in Hanoi on July 25. Photo: AFP/Getty Images

Fifty-five pieces of rhino horn were found hidden inside shipments of plaster at Noi Bai International Airport and a haul of frozen tiger carcasses found in a car in the capital city of Hanoi within a day, local media reported.

On July 25, customs officers broke plaster molds from 14 shipments to uncover the smuggled horns while tiger carcasses were uncovered at a parking lot in the city’s downtown on the same day.

Local police arrested three men namely Nguyen Huu Hue, 52, Phan Van Vui, 34, and Ho Anh Tu, 28 for smuggling dead tigers, the Cong An Nhan Dan newspaper reported.

Nguyen Huu Hue is believed a key wildlife trafficking suspect smuggling animals from neighboring Laos for years as the country tries to tackle a well-worn smuggling route from Laos.

Hue set up a company which focuses on building materials as a cover for the illegal trading of tigers and wildlife, according to the newspaper, the official mouthpiece of the Ministry of Public Security.

All seven tigers appeared to be cubs, according to photos of the seizure.

It was not immediately clear if the dead tigers had come from the wild or from many illegal tiger farms in Laos, which supply much of Asia’s demand for tiger meat and parts, according to AFP.

The seizure in the Vietnamese capital came after Hanoi police arrested a man accused of running a wildlife trafficking ring on July 23.

That arrest followed the discovery of seven frozen tigers in a car parked in the basement of a Hanoi skyscraper.

Tiger parts are used for traditional medicine or jewelry in Vietnam, where the once-large population of the endangered feline has dwindled dramatically.

Their bones are commonly boiled down and mixed with rice wine to make an elixir believed to treat arthritis and promote strength.

Rhino horn found in Noi Bai International Airport on July 25. Photo: VNA

The smugglers’ arrest in Hanoi follows a record seizure in Singapore last week of nearly nine tons of ivory and a huge stash of pangolin scales en route to Vietnam. The haul was passing through Singapore on its way from the Democratic Republic of Congo to Vietnam, according to a joint statement released Tuesday by the Singapore Customs, Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) and the National Parks Board, according to CNN.

Earlier, police busted several other members of the same wildlife trafficking ring, which has been running for several years from a central province which shares a border with Laos.

Vietnam is both a consumption hub and popular smuggling route for illegal wildlife trade, from tigers to elephant tusks, pangolins and rhino horn.

Some of it is destined for domestic consumption in Vietnam, while the rest is smuggled on to China.

Vietnam has long vowed to crack down on the illegal wildlife trade, though conservationists say the black market persists due to weak law enforcement.

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