In March, Haiphong customs inspectors found more than six tonnes of elephant tusks in a container shipped from Tanzania.

Last Thursday, police in the central province of Thanh Hoa seized nearly 100 kg of elephant tusks hidden in the boot and chassis of a car headed for Hanoi.

Dao Thi Ngoc Van, a trafficking expert at the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) in Hanoi, said most elephant ivory smuggled into Vietnam was ultimately destined for China.

A report issued by WWF in 2008 found ivory prices ranged from $770 to $1,200 per kg on the Vietnamese black market.