HANOI: Vietnam customs officials have seized nearly one tonne of ivory hidden in a timber shipment from Kenya, an official said on Thursday, the third major illegal haul of precious tusks in less than a month.

The communist nation is a popular transit route for illegal ivory from Africa heading to other parts of Asia, namely China, where it is used for decorative and medicinal purposes.

Ivory products are also hot in Vietnam, though the trade is officially banned.

The latest haul from Kenya was discovered at a port in Ho Chi Minh City on Wednesday, where it was carefully hidden in a shipment of timber logs — a common practise among smugglers.

Some 3.5 tonnes of ivory have been discovered at the city’s Cat Lai port this month, all in crates of wood, including a hefty two-tonne haul packed into a single shipment.

“All that ivory was not just to be consumed in Vietnam,” a customs official said.

Published in Dawn, October 28th, 2016