Phnom Penh: On December 13, 2018, more than 3 tons of elephant ivory, equal to 1,026 pieces, was discovered hidden in containers at the cargo storage area in Phnom Penh Autonomous Port.
Tipped off by the U.S. Embassy in Phnom Penh, a total of 1,026 pieces of elephant tusks, weighing up to 3.2 tons, was found on Thursday at Phnom Penh Autonomous Port, said Sun Chhay, a director of the Customs and Excise Office at the port.
He said the ivory was sent from the southern African nation of Mozambique. The elephant tusks arrived at the Phnom Penh port in July, but officials did not find them until Thursday.
Sun Chhay refused to comment on where the ivory was supposed to be headed, but said Cambodia was only being used as a transit point.
Cambodia has a long history of being in the transit hub for the illegal ivory trade between Africa and east Asia.
In May 2014, Cambodian customs officials seized some 3 tons of African ivory hidden in a container of beans at the country’s southwestern port of Sihanoukville.
