Foreigner arrested transporting nearly 15 kg of rhino horns

Rhino horns were seized by competent force at Noi Bai Airport. Photo: T.Bình

The case was chaired by the Noi Bai International Airport Customs Branch (Hanoi Customs Department), in coordination with the Northern Anti-Smuggling Enforcement Unit – Unit 1 (Anti-Smuggling and Investigation Department, General Department of Vietnam Customs) and other forces.

On April 16, a source revealed to Customs News that, after finding the illegal items, the customs authority handed over the documents, exhibits and suspect to the police in order to continue handling in accordance with regulations.

Next, the Investigation Police Department (Hanoi Police) will prosecute the case and detain the suspect.

"The decisions of prosecution and arresting the subjects were approved by the Hanoi People's Procurate by the end of last week," the source said.

Earlier, on April 11, at Noi Bai International Airport, Customs forces coordinated with competent authorities and airlines to physically inspect a suspicious package.

According to sources, the packages were shipped on flights departing from South Africa and arriving at Noi Bai airport on April 9.

At the scene, the Customs News’ reporter saw that the package was contained in a large, black bag, carefully packed by several layers of plastic. Inside the bag, there were lots of parcels, powdered milk cans and packages wrapped in foil. The foil packages contained rhino horns that were hidden to avoid detection.

However, with professional measures, the Customs authorities promptly discovered and seized the rhino horns as mentioned above. The total weight of the rhino horns reached nearly 15 kg.

Rhino horn is prohibited from trading under CITES (Convention on international trade in endangered wild animals and plants), however, many wildlife smugglers still find ways to trade this item on the black market with the selling price of billions VND per kg