MOMBASA: Kenyan Customs officers have seized about four tons (8,600 llb) of ivory hidden inside sacks of sesame seeds.
The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) said more than 1,600 pieces of ivory, worth $1.4m, were found in Mombasa in two consignments bound for Turkey. There is a huge demand for African ivory in Asia for use in ornaments.
A customs official said smugglers were increasingly shipping tusks through countries not normally associated with demand for ivory. KWS’s Arthur Tuda said the ivory was found during two separate searches on different days at Mombasa port.
