February 4, 2019//-Hong Kong Customs intercepted a record HK$62 million, ($7.90 million) worth of pangolin scales and ivory tusks from Nigeria.
The seized items were found in a shipping container destined for Vietnam. It added that this was the largest single seizure of pangolin scales in Hong Kong.
The customs in a statement said the 8,300 kilos of pangolin scales and 2,100 kilos of ivory were discovered hidden inside a container declared as frozen meat.
The Head of Command at Hong Kong’s Customs and Excise Department, Yueng Ka-yan, said the smugglers used a new method to hide the endangered species by a process of ‘solidification’ where they used ice bags and frozen meat to obscure the species.
It was revealed that a man and a woman from a trading company in the city have since been arrested.