Vietnamese woman arrested for smuggling 22 kilos of elephant tusks into Thailand

BANGKOK — A Vietnamese woman was arrested for allegedly smuggling more than 22 kilogrammes of endangered elephant tusks in Thailand on Sunday, Thanh Niên (Young People) newspaper has reported.

The woman faces up to six years behind bars under Thai law.

Nguyễn Thị Thanh, 43 from central Hà Tĩnh Province, was found carrying 930 pieces of elephant tusks worth two billion Thai bath (US$60,340) on a bus in Nakhon Phanom District, located nearly 750 kilometres from Bangkok.

The tusks originated from Africa and were imported to Laos before being transported to Thailand for sale.

Thanh said that she was hired to carry the ivory to a bus station in Thailand.

Under Thai law, it’s illegal to sell or transport elephant tusks over borders. Violators will face fines up to six million baht ($181,050) and jail sentences of between three to six years. — VNS