BANGKOK, 13 January 2018 (NNT) – The Customs Department seized ivory worth over 15 million baht smuggled from Nigeria.

Three elephant tusks and 31 ivory pieces weighing a combined 148 kilograms were seized at Suvarnabhumi international airport in Bangkok, Customs Department spokesperson Chaiyut Khamkhun said in a press conference.

The smuggled goods were shipped from Nigeria's commercial center of Lagos to Bangkok. The registered address in Thailand does not exist.

Ivory trade has been outlawed under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), but smuggling from Africa into Asia persists.

Thai customs officials believed the ivory smuggled through Thailand was intended for China, one of the world's biggest consumers of ivory products.

Since October 2016, Thai Customs agents have seized smuggled endangered species and their products in 52 separate cases.

National News Bureau Of Thailand | Customs Dept seizes smuggled ivory worth over 15 million baht