Dozens of elephant tusks seized at Nairobi airport

BBC News, 6 May 2011

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More than one tonne of ivory has been seized at Nairobi's international airport, Kenyan police have said.

Environmentalists believe poaching is on the increase
in Kenya

About 115 elephant tusks were found by sniffer dogs inside metal containers bound for an address in Nigeria.

It was the largest seizure in recent months, police said. Last year, two tonnes of ivory and five rhino horns were found at Nairobi's airport.

Officials believe Kenya has become a transit point for international ivory smuggling, largely to Asia.

"We are suspecting they could be from here or neighbouring countries and we are on their toes. We must get them," Eunice Kiheko, deputy police chief at the airport, told the Associated Press.

"They have killed many, many elephants and we cannot allow this."

The shipment labels said the containers originated from two foreign embassies in Kenya which do not exist, officials said.

No arrests have yet been made.