16 arrested in suspected wildlife smuggling ring as authorities seize 804kg of ivory along with rhino horn and bear paws

Authorities announced Monday the arrests of 16 suspected members of a smuggling ring and the seizure of hundreds of kilograms of ivory along with rhino horns and bear paws.

Police in Beijing said that as a result of a crackdown from May to August on the illegal trade and transport of wildlife products, officers netted 804 kg of ivory, 11 kg of rhino horns and 35 bear paws in a haul worth 24 million yuan (HK$29.3 million).

China is the world’s largest market for illegal ivory, which has been thriving under the cover of legal ivory sales. Amid criticism that demand for ivory among its rising middle class threatens African elephants, China is taking steps to fight trafficking and end ivory sales.

In February, China imposed a one-year ban on ivory imports. In September, President Xi Jinping pledged to halt commercial ivory sales in China when he was visiting the United States.

Beijing police said in a statement that the ivory was smuggled illegally from Japan to mainland China via Hong Kong. The 16 suspects were arrested by forest police, which investigate crimes involving wildlife, in Beijing, Hebei, Guangdong and Shandong, among other places.

TRAFFIC, a British-based anti-wildlife trafficking group, praised the operation as a “clear demonstration of the Chinese government’s commitment to crack down on illegal wildlife trade.” TRAFFIC said in a statement that it was possible that all the wildlife products in the case originated in Japan, where people have been selling legally owned ivory and rhino horns from the 1980s and earlier as their popularity has plummeted.