Authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo seize 1.5 tons of elephant ivory

Authorities in the southeastern area of the Democratic Republic of Congo recovered one and a half tons of elephant ivory, one of the greatest hauls in Africa in years.

The official said that the officers discovered the smuggled tusks aboard trucks in Lubumbashi on Saturday.

According to the official, police apprehended five persons, but two of them escaped after being questioned. He went on to say that the haul weighed 1.5 tons.

The ivory’s origin and planned final destination are also unknown.

On Wednesday, Sabin Mande, a lawyer for a coalition of environmental groups, told that he saw 18 bags of seized ivory in the Lubumbashi state prosecutor’s office.

According to him, the contraband consists of 80 to 100 slain elephants.

This is one of the largest seizures in Africa in recent years.

Kenyan authorities made multiple seizures in 2013, including one weighing four tons.

In 2014, Togolese authorities also seized four tons of ivory in a single week.

In the largest recent haul globally, Vietnamese officials discovered nearly nine tons of elephant ivory in a shipment hauling timber from the Republic of Congo, also known as Congo-Brazzaville.