afrol News, 7 August - Sudanese government has uncovered a major illicit ivory trade seizing over 470 pieces and arresting a number of suspects.

In a statement, the interior ministry said the suspects used a commercial premises as cover for its illicit ivory trade and other antiquities.

A total of 309 ivory sculptures, 147 bracelets, 21 vases, and bags of other items were seized by Sudan.

Except in exceptional circumstances, an international law banned the sale of ivory in 1989. A sharp fall in the world's elephant population, mainly due to poaching for lucrative tasks and the gradual destruction of the habitat, had prompted the enactment of the laws.

An estimated 553, 973 elephans wer alive in Africa, compared to 1.2 million in the late 1970s.

Ivory trade is still enjoying lucrative deal in the world market. Much of the raw materials orginate from the nieghbouring countries, particlarly the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic

By staff writer

© African Future

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