Working with US officials, Phnom Penh Autonomous Port has uncovered almost 3.5 tonnes of elephant ivory hidden in a container, the US Embassy in Cambodia said on Facebook on Saturday.

A tip-off provided to the General Department of Customs and Excise by a US Fish and Wildlife investigation team led to the seizure on Thursday, the embassy wrote.

Officials searched a sealed container and seized more than 1,000 pieces of ivory weighing nearly 3.5 tonnes.

“A joint US and Cambodia investigation has seized over 1,000 pieces of ivory. Working together, the US Fish and Wildlife investigation provided information to the Cambodian Customs and Excise Department that ultimately led to the search of a sealed container,” the embassy said.

The port’s Customs and Excise office director, Sun Chhay, said the 1,026 pieces of ivory were transported from Malaca, Mozambique to the capital in July. The unidentified owner failed to collect the shipment.

The ivory has been temporarily impounded at the port for further procedures. This is merely the latest in a long line of large ivory seizures in the Kingdom.http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/huge-35-tonne-ivory-haul-seized-capital