BANGKOK, 23 April 2015 – Over 38,000 owners of ivory and related items have registered their possessions, weighing a total of 200 tonnes, Pol. Gen. Chalermkiat Srivorakan, Deputy Police Commissioner General says.
Pol. Gen. Chalermkiat said anyone who fails to register their ivory by the deadline on April 21 would be prosecuted. Punishment term is a fine of three million baht for an individual owner. Suppliers will get stronger punishment of a 6-million-baht fine and 3 years in prison. However, the number of registered ivory unveiled still excludes those to be reported through the Post.
Police also vowed to continue investigations into illegal possession of ivory to bring big boss behind the trade to punishment. They believed these measures would mitigate the ivory smuggling in the country.
Pol. Gen. Chalermkiat also revealed the progress of Thailand’s action to suppress international illegal ivory trade as pressured by CITES. He said that Thai authorities have submitted latest report on Thailand’s action to CITES since March and are now waiting for the latter’s decision. However, he confirmed Thai authorities have done their best to take Thailand out of the CITES black list.
