Thirteen attempts to smuggle ivory products and parts of endangered animals into China have been foiled by Beijing customs so far this year.
Beijing Customs seized a total of 277 items including antelope horn, wolf tooth, leopard skin, and other parts of endangered species, including 158 ivory products that weigh 17 kilograms, Beijing-based newspaper the Legal Daily reported Monday.
A suspect surnamed Li was recently found carrying two pieces of ivory, weighing 2.5 kilograms and worth 100,000 yuan ($15,608).
Li went through the nothing-to-declare channel at the entry point in China, but was later checked by customs officers.
The anti-smuggling bureau of Beijing customs is investigating the case, said Legal Daily.
According to Beijing customs, all suspects in the 13 cases are Chinese. They are mostly tourists, business visitors, or migrant workers in Africa.
African countries generally fulfill obligations under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) to completely prohibit international trade involving wild elephants, the newspaper said.
Smugglers are often driven by the lure of huge profits.
They usually carry the products concealed in travel bags or pockets in clothing, Beijing customs was quoted as saying by Legal Daily.
The Chinese government issued a ban on commercial ivory trade and production in late 2016, which became effective in late 2017.
According to the ban, all means of trade and transport of ivory products to and from China is forbidden.
