Two held in Shanghai for smuggling rhino horns and ivory

Two Chinese air passengers have been arrested in Shanghai for smuggling rhinoceros horns, ivory and related products weighing 55 kg, the city’s customs authority said on Wednesday.

While screening luggage from a plane that arrived from France in January, customs officials found 11 pieces of rhinoceros horn and products along with 36 pieces of ivory, with an estimated total value of 5 million yuan ($800,000). They were seized from five cases carried by the pair, who were traveling together.

The suspects said the products were bought from an auction house, antique shop and market in Paris. They knew the products were banned in China, customs officials said.

On March 2, customs officers at Shanghai Pudong International Airport found ivory and related products, wrapped in clothing and plastic, and with an estimated value of 1.7 million yuan, in luggage carried by a passenger arriving from Dubai.