China banned ivory, but Vietnamese gangs keep the trade alive

A 1.2-tonne seizure reveals how transnational syndicates bypass bans to move poached tusks from Africa to Asia

Custom officers were tipped off to the contraband, sealed inside hidden compartments with wax, by port scanners that flagged hollow cavities in the timber.

Port authorities called it the largest seizure on record for Quy Nhon, yet it was far from the first time smuggled ivory was uncovered at a Vietnamese port.

Between 2009 and 2018 alone, some 56 tonnes of ivory were seized in Vietnam, according to international NGO the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), with a further 20 tonnes linked to the country seized elsewhere.