BANGKOK: The Customs Department has announced the seizure of ivory and other illegal items worth Bt5 million that were mailed to Thailand from October 2014 to February this year. The announcement was made at the Bangkok Express Mail Service Centre in Lak S.
AUTHORITIES have seized ivory, illegal liquid inhalants, pornographic materials, libido-boosting medication, hookah tobacco, electronic cigarettes and other illegal items worth Bt5 million in Thailand-bound packages, Bangkok’s Customs Office director Prayuth Maneechote told the press yesterday.
These items, seized between October and this month, were fewer compared with the previous year, he said, adding that some of the people involved had been arrested. Prayuth explained that the smuggling route for ivory had shifted from Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya and Tanzania in Africa to Nigeria, the United Arab Emirates and Malaysia. Ivory was also being smuggled to Thailand from Madagascar or Mozambique via South Africa, as well as from the United States, Britain, Belgium and Morocco, he said, adding that the new lot had come from Japan.
As per a Cabinet resolution last September, seized ivory items would either be burned, returned to the country of origin or stored for further study. Meanwhile, Thanit Wattananant, chief of the Postal Customs Service Division, called on members of the public to beware of people claiming to have sent them valuables that are “stuck due to customs procedures and require additional fees”.
