Ivory Worth Millions Uncovered After Bust

Customs officials continued on Monday to slowly unpack a haul of hollowed-out logs from Africa crammed with endangered animal parts, initially revealing more than 140 ivory tusks and pieces of ivory valued at millions of dollars.

John Guiry, CEO of Royal Railways, the line that carried the freight to Phnom Penh, said he saw the tusks of nearly two dozen elephants on Monday in just the first 20 centimeters of wood that officials cut away.

“When you see it yourself, it really hits you on the head,” Guiry said. “I saw 22 dead elephants on Monday—you know, there are two tusks per elephant—in 8 or 9 inches of wood.”

With an average weight of 30 kg per elephant tusk, the ivory uncovered so far would be worth nearly $9 million at Chinese ivory prices reported earlier this year in The Guardian.

Some 20 officials—military police, U.S. Embassy staff, Forestry Administration officials and members of the NGO Wildlife Alliance —arrived at the Phnom Penh dry port on Monday to watch the process and guard the haul.

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