China banned ivory, but Vietnamese gangs keep the trade alive

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Three months after leaving an inland port far up the Congo River, a consignment of timber arrived in Vietnam this summer concealing a secret it would take customs officials three weeks to uncover: nearly 1.2 tonnes of elephant ivory, smuggled halfway across the world.Tracking data reviewed by This Week in Asia shows the shipment travelled some 9,000 nautical miles (16,700km) – with stops in Sri Lanka and Singapore – before reaching Quy Nhon, a port on Vietnam’s central coast.Custom officers...