<p class="title">Cambodia seized more than 3.2 tonnes of elephant tusks hidden in a storage container sent from Mozambique, a customs official said Sunday, marking the country's largest ivory bust.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The discovery Thursday of 1,026 tusks at the Phnom Penh Autonomous Port followed a tip from the US embassy, the official said, and highlights Cambodia's emergence as a key regional transit point for the multibillion-dollar trade in illicit wildlife.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"The elephant tusks were hidden among marble in a container that was abandoned," Sun Chhay, director of the Customs and Excise Office at the port, told AFP.</p>.<p class="bodytext">He said the ivory was sent from the southern African nation of Mozambique and arrived at the port last year.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The unidentified owner of the shipment did not arrive to pick up the cargo.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Pictures of the massive haul showed long rows of confiscated tusks spread out on the ground at the port.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Sun Chhay said he did not know whether the shipment was destined for markets in other countries.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Demand from China and Vietnam has fuelled the growth of illegal wildlife trafficking via Cambodia.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Weak law enforcement and corruption attract wildlife smugglers, especially at a time when neighbouring Thailand is cracking down on the banned trade.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Ivory is prized for its beauty while the market in traditional medicine has led to the smuggling of rhino horn and pangolin scales.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Cambodia has a miniscule elephant population but its emergence as a new trafficking hub has resulted in several headline-grabbing busts over the past five years.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The largest before this week occurred in 2014, when Cambodian customs seized about three tonnes of ivory hidden in a container of beans at the southwestern port of Sihanoukville.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Last year, Cambodia also seized nearly a tonne of ivory hidden in hollowed-out logs discovered inside an abandoned container, owned by a company based in Mozambique.</p>
<p class="title">Cambodia seized more than 3.2 tonnes of elephant tusks hidden in a storage container sent from Mozambique, a customs official said Sunday, marking the country's largest ivory bust.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The discovery Thursday of 1,026 tusks at the Phnom Penh Autonomous Port followed a tip from the US embassy, the official said, and highlights Cambodia's emergence as a key regional transit point for the multibillion-dollar trade in illicit wildlife.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"The elephant tusks were hidden among marble in a container that was abandoned," Sun Chhay, director of the Customs and Excise Office at the port, told AFP.</p>.<p class="bodytext">He said the ivory was sent from the southern African nation of Mozambique and arrived at the port last year.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The unidentified owner of the shipment did not arrive to pick up the cargo.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Pictures of the massive haul showed long rows of confiscated tusks spread out on the ground at the port.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Sun Chhay said he did not know whether the shipment was destined for markets in other countries.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Demand from China and Vietnam has fuelled the growth of illegal wildlife trafficking via Cambodia.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Weak law enforcement and corruption attract wildlife smugglers, especially at a time when neighbouring Thailand is cracking down on the banned trade.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Ivory is prized for its beauty while the market in traditional medicine has led to the smuggling of rhino horn and pangolin scales.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Cambodia has a miniscule elephant population but its emergence as a new trafficking hub has resulted in several headline-grabbing busts over the past five years.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The largest before this week occurred in 2014, when Cambodian customs seized about three tonnes of ivory hidden in a container of beans at the southwestern port of Sihanoukville.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Last year, Cambodia also seized nearly a tonne of ivory hidden in hollowed-out logs discovered inside an abandoned container, owned by a company based in Mozambique.</p>