Customs officers at the Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi have found over 100 kilograms of suspected rhino horns imported to the Southeast Asian country from Africa.

The haul of wildlife parts were discovered being contained in two suitcases aboard flight KQ 870 from Narobi, Kenta to the Vietnamese capital on Tuesday afternoon.

The luggage did not bear the name of the recipient as well as its total weigh.

Officers from the airport’s customs office coordinated with the anti-smuggling division under the General Department of Vietnam Customs to investigate the shipment.

One of the suitcases weighed 57.1 kilograms and the other, 60.84 kilograms, both containing animal horns appearing to be from rhinos, according to officers.

Competent authorities are carrying out further probing while the wildlife parts have been transferred to the Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources, under the management of the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, for an examination.

On December 29, 2016, customs officers at Noi Bai Airport also seized a 50 kilogram shipment of rhino horns shipped from Kenya to dubious recipients.

The shipment had an estimated black market value of VND20 billion (US$879,097).

In accordance with Vietnamese law, the import of rhino horns, as with all animals protected by the Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), is prohibited. 

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