Malaysia prepares to destroy seized ivory

Kuala Lumpur, Aug 22 (IANS) Malaysian customs officers at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) in Sepang on Monday handed over illegal, seized ivory worth RM10 million ($2.5 million) to the country's wildlife department, a media report said.

The KLIA officers had seized one tonne of African ivory on July 21 after detecting suspicious images from a scan of 23 air cargo parcels in the airport cargo warehouse, Efe news reported quoting a report of Malay Mail Online.

The ivory had arrived on a flight from Kinshasa International Airport in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which transited through Turkey's Istanbul Ataturk Airport before landing in Malaysia.

KLIA Customs Director Chik Omar said investigators believed the ivory was on transit in Malaysia before being sent to China, Thailand and Vietnam where it is used in traditional Chinese medicine and ornaments.

No arrests have been made yet and the investigation is ongoing, he added.