Singapore snares record haul of smuggled rhino horns from South Africa

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SINGAPORE (Reuters) -Singapore seized a record 35.7 kg of smuggled rhinoceros horns worth about S$1,130,000 ($867,430) en route to Laos, the largest haul in Singapore to date, the National Parks Board said on Tuesday.

The haul was found earlier this month in a shipment of four pieces of cargo declared as furniture fittings, and also contained around 150 kg of other animal parts, including bones, teeth and claws. 

Authorities said investigations showed the horns belonged to white rhinoceroses and originated from South Africa.

Species identification for the other animal parts is ongoing, authorities said.

All rhino species are protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, which means it is illegal to trade them internationally. The city-state is a signatory to the convention.

“Singapore adopts a zero-tolerance stance on the illegal trade of endangered wildlife species, and their parts and derivatives,” said a joint press release by the National Parks Board and the air cargo handler SATS.

Authorities said the wildlife parts were detected during routine screening and acceptance checks by SATS. A staff member detected an odour coming from the shipment, leading to more thorough inspections of all four packages, with the police and National Parks Board alerted.

The horns will be disposed of according to international guidelines to prevent them from re-entering the market, they added.

Despite international campaigns to crack down on poachers and smugglers, demand for rhino horns has remained strong, driven by their use in traditional medicine and their role as status symbols in many Asian countries. 

The maximum penalties for trading endangered species through Singapore are a fine of up to S$200,000 for each specimen, with the total not exceeding S$1 million. Smugglers could also face up to eight years in jail.

The biggest previous haul was seized in October 2022, when 34.7 kg of rhinoceros horns were found in two pieces of baggage at Singapore’s Changi Airport. The owner of the bags was sentenced to 24 months in jail in January last year.

In September, a Kenyan court charged a man for trading two rhinoceros horns worth 8.2 million Kenyan shillings ($63,000), nine years after he was jailed for ivory smuggling.

($1 = 1.3027 Singapore dollars)

(Reporting by Xinghui Kok; Editing by David Stanway)