HANOI, March 16 (Xinhua) -- Customs officers at the Noi Bai International Airport in Vietnam's capital Hanoi have seized over 100 kg of suspected rhino horns imported from Africa.
The haul of wildlife parts were discovered in two suitcases on board of a flight from Kenya's Nairobi to Hanoi, local Tuoi Tre (Youth) online newspaper reported on Thursday.
The luggage did not bear the name of the recipient as well as its total weigh.
Anti-smuggling division under the General Department of Vietnam Customs investigated the shipment, discovering that one of the suitcases weighed 57.1 kg and the other weighed 60.84 kg. Both contained animal horns appearing to be from rhinos, according to officers.
Local relevant authorities were carrying out further probe while the wildlife parts had been transferred to the Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources under the management of the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology for an examination.
On Dec. 29, 2016, customs officers at Noi Bai Airport also seized a 50-kg shipment of rhino horns shipped from Kenya to dubious recipients.
The shipment had an estimated black market value of some 20 billion Vietnamese dong (879,097 U.S. dollars), reported Tuoi Tre.
In accordance with Vietnamese law, import of rhino horns, as with all animals protected by the Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), is prohibited.
