Ivory and Hornbill Smuggling Attempt Foiled

In this week’s crime blotter: hornbills and ivory, a tortoise-smuggling scheme, and 22 live snakes.

Hong Kong customs officers found quite a trove of products from threatened species on Thursday after they stopped and searched a car at an immigration control point bordering mainland China.

They found what’s believed to be 216 pounds (98 kilograms) of ivory, 15 pounds (seven kilograms) of hornbill beak, and two pounds (one kilogram) of agarwood in a vehicle as the driver attempted to leave Hong Kong, the South China Morning Post reports. In total, the haul could sell for more than $129,000 (one million Hong Kong dollars) on the black market, the report says.

Hong Kong plays a leading role in the ivory black market as a transit point for ivory smuggled from Africa to Asia. As for the

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