Chinese customs confiscate 670 kg in smuggled ivory

Chinese customs officials seized 670 kilograms of ivory products by cracking 37 smuggling cases last year, China Central Television reported.

Some 124 cases related to the smuggling of endangered species and products were recorded nationwide in 2017, according to the General Administration of Customs.

Officials confiscated 393 metric tons of endangered animal parts and products last year, keeping them off the black market.

Customs officers in Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, detained three suspects at the end of last year after tracking down 165 ivory tusks smuggled from Africa.

The tusks — the largest of which was about 1 meters long and 88 centimeters in diameter — were smuggled into China across the border with Vietnam, according to local reports.

Li Shun contributed to this story.