FAR EAST CORRESPONDENT — For the past 12-months authorities and environmentalists across Southeast Asia have been warning of a massive surge in the illegal wildlife trade, particularly elephant tusks and rhinoceros horn, fuelled largely by demand in China.

In Bangkok those fears are being realized after customs officers seized nearly half a ton of ivory hidden in wooden boxes on a flight from Kenya and valued at US$700,000. This came after another seizure worth US$2 million in New York last week with the arrest of two jewelers.

Read more in The Diplomat.