Rhino horn carved into Buddha statues
INNOVATIVE rhino horn smugglers thought they could outsmart Hong Kong airport security by carving the contraband into Buddha statues, or hiding it.
But their efforts were foiled by customs officers, who seized several rhino horns – an estimated market value of HK$2.7-million (R4.1-million) – after searching the luggage of passengers arriving on flights from Johannesburg and Madrid, Spain.
Two of the rhino horns had been carved into small Buddha statues‚ while others were wrapped in tin foil and foam to try to outfox airport scanners.
The customs department said the horns – with a total weight of just more than 12kg – were intercepted at Hong Kong International airport at the weekend.
On Saturday, they arrested two men‚ aged 26 and 42‚ who arrived in Hong Kong from Johannesburg‚ via Doha‚ Qatar.
“At customs clearance‚ suspected rhino horns wrapped in aluminium foil and foam were found inside a paper box in their check-in luggage,” it said.
The men’s cases were handed to the Agriculture‚ Fisheries and Conservation Department for follow-up investigations.
On Sunday‚ a 25-year-old woman was arrested after two suspected rhino horns were found hidden inside a kettle in her check-in suitcase, when she arrived on a flight from Madrid. The horns found had been carved into Buddha statues.
The names and nationalities of the three suspects have not been released – and it remains unclear why the horns were not detected during airport security checks in either South Africa or Spain.
Dr Richard Thomas‚ spokesman for global wildlife products monitoring network Traffic‚ said the Buddha horns did not appear to have been carved recently. “If that’s the case‚ it’s possibly a case of supplying the material rather than the product. If they are old carvings‚ then they may well have originated in Europe.”
The Hong Kong Customs Department said: “Under the Protection of Endangered Species of Animals and Plants Ordinance‚ any person found guilty of importing an endangered species is liable to a maximum fine of HK$5-million [R7.6-million] and imprisonment of two years.”