Overview
- Twenty white-rhinoceros horns weighing 35.7 kg were found in four cargo pieces labeled as furniture fittings en route to Vientiane, Laos.
- SATS handler Vengadeswaran Letchumanan flagged a damaged box with a strong odour, triggering inspections that revealed the shipment.
- About 150 kg of other animal parts, including bones, teeth and claws, were seized, with species identification still underway.
- NParks is conducting DNA analysis with the University of Pretoria to determine provenance and the individual animals involved.
- Under Singapore’s 2022 law, unpermitted trade in CITES Appendix I species can draw fines of up to S$200,000 per specimen, capped at S$1 million, and up to eight years’ jail, with investigations ongoing.