Business Standard

Dutch customs discover rhino horn in carvings headed to Laos

Image

AP The Hague
Dutch customs officials say they have intercepted a crate containing 12 concealed pieces of rhinoceros horn that was being sent from South Africa to Laos.

The Dutch Customs office said in a statement today that the horn pieces seized last week at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol weighed more than six kilograms (13 pounds) all together.

Customs spokeswoman Gera van Weenum says the parts, some of them stamped with numbers, were found hidden inside wooden carvings of human heads.

Rhinoceros horns are in high demand across Asia for their use in traditional Chinese medicine.

Officials fighting the traffic in endangered species said last year that Laos is used as a transit point to smuggle wildlife parts to other Asian countries.

Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content

Don't miss the most important news and views of the day. Get them on our Telegram channel

First Published: Jun 23 2017 | 10:13 PM IST

Explore News