Saudi Arabia said Saturday that it foiled an attempt to smuggle 588 pieces of elephant tusks from Africa to Asia, media reported.
The ivory, weighing about 490 kg, was found hidden within the luggage of a passenger at the King Khaled International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi News Agency reported.
The passenger came from an African countries and was travelling to an Asian country.
The report didnot reveal the nationality of the passenger and names of the African and Asian countries the passenger traveled from and intended to fly to.
Over 20,000 elephants were poached across Africa in 2013, according to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora report released this year.
