Illegal ivory traders taken to task
Sales over the internet have proliferated in recent years
A THREEweek crackdown on illegally obtained ivory being sold in shops and on the internet has resulted in 66 items made of it being seized around Alicante province.
A dozen people in different towns have been reported under the law against contraband, reported a spokesman for the Guardia Civil.
At the end of September, the force’s environmental protection service ( Seprona) detected numerous advertisements online offering artisan objects and jewellery that seemed to be made of ivory.
Since it comes from a legally protected animal, ivory is subject to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species ( CITES) and proof of its legal provenance is required to sell it.
The investigation identified and tracked down the owners, and officers carried out inspections of the objects
on October 20.
After finding that the pieces did seem to be made from ivory, the owners were asked to prove they were of legal origin.
However, none of the owners could provide any documentation to prove that their pieces met the requirements to be able to trade them.
They are seven women and five men, all of them Spanish, who live in Alicante, Elche, Torrevieja, San Vicente del Raspeig, Santa Pola, Jijona and Muchamiel.
The amount of the fines they face will depend on the value of the objects confiscated from each offender, but are a minimum of € 500.
Officers seized a total of 66 objects, valued at a total of € 3,860, which have been deposited at the headquarters of the customs service in Alicante pending analysis and authentication by the export inspection service ( SOIVRE).
“Selling ivory on the internet has proliferated in recent years because online adverts can reach a wide audience and make it easier for offenders to evade the law,” noted the spokesman.
“For this reason the Guardia Civil carried out specific, regular checks on the web in order to detect this illegal trade.”