Man with links to Australian crime figures prime suspect in ivory trade

An Australian bust of 3kg of ivory products comes amid a global crackdown on illegal wildlife trafficking.

An inconspicuous package sent to a Sydney address has smashed open an Australian criminal network involved in the cruel and illegal ivory trade that’s devastating global elephant populations.

Alert Customs officers discovered 3kg of ivory products in the parcel sparking a secret investigation which led them to uncover and seize another 30kg of illegally imported ivory.

There are now multiple persons of interest around the country.

Seized ivory goods. Picture: Supplied

The Sydney bust came amid a global crackdown on illegal wildlife trafficking by INTERPOL and the World Customs Organisation known as Operation Thunder 2021, which identified 300 suspects and led to worldwide seizures.

This included 1.4 million plant-derived items, 336 reptiles, and almost 1000kg of ivory pieces and products.

Environment Minister Sussan Ley said the seizures showed the importance of agencies working together. Picture: Hollie Adams/The Australian

Minister for the Environment Sussan Ley said in Australia the operation seized 3513 individual items from 89 detections.

It’s believed to be the tip of the iceberg in the Australian trade which has turned over millions of dollars in the past decade at auction houses and through online marketplaces such as Gumtree by sellers in NSW, Qld, Victoria and WA.

It is illegal to bring ivory and rhino horns into the country. But there are no laws to stop sales once the products are in the country.

Ivory tusks of wild elephants seized from poachers in Central African. Picture: Michael Gottschalk/Photothek via Getty Images

NSW Animal Justice Party MP, Emma Hurst, said online sales are easy potential loopholes exploited by wildlife criminals and there is little data about how much is sold and where it is from.

“Shockingly, there are no laws preventing elephant ivory and rhino horn being bought or sold domestically,” Ms Hurst said.

Animal Justice Party MP Emma Hurst says there needs to be a law revamp. Picture: Toby Zerna

Luke Bond, a wildlife crime investigator told a parliamentary inquiry into the ivory and rhino horn trade, the Australian market flourished thanks to “forged documents (stating ivory is antique not new), false declarations and antique dealers instructing buyers to hide illicit objects in their luggage or declare it as plastic”.

Mr Bond who worked with INTERPOL and Australian Law Enforcement agencies led a series of search warrants on auction houses and homes identifying a prime trafficking suspect, who was also involved in organised crime.

Wildlife crime investigator Luke Bond. Picture via Youtube

The man, on unemployment benefits who had large amounts of unexplained wealth and two arrests overseas for wildlife trafficking, was selling two items with false provenance through a Melbourne auction house for $500,000.

Two INTERPOL notices were issued – a Green Notice identifying the actions and risk associated with the suspect, and a Blue Notice warning about methods used to illegally import ivory by making them appear antique, and using fabricated expert provenance statements.

The suspect was referred to the AFP and the ATO but it is understood he has never been charged.

Examples of Ivory for sale on Gumtree. Picture: Supplied

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime has confirmed a domestic market exists in Australia and the “apparent lack of arrests and further investigations is cause for concern, exacerbating perceptions of wildlife crime as low risk/high reward”.