Rhino horn destined for Hong Kong is confiscated at Johannesburg airport

South African Revenue Service customs officials have intercepted 7.035kg of rhino horn declared as "tea bags" at Johannesburg's O.R. Tambo International Airport.

The discovery was made when Customs officials scanned the shipment on Wednesday‚ Sars said on Friday.

Spotting what appeared to be rhino horn‚ they conducted a physical inspection.

• Malaysia seizes big shipment of rhino horns at airportEnforcement officials in Malaysia have seized 18 rhinoceros horns imported from Mozambique, weighing 51.4 kg and worth 13.7 million ringgit, a senior customs official said Monday. 

"The contents of the box were found to include 8 pieces of rhino horn wrapped in foil."

The rhino horn was concealed amongst packets of sweets and chocolates.

• WWF worried about 'blood horns' following ConCourt rhino horn trade rulingThe World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF) is worried about the impacts of the laundering of “blood horns” on South Africa’s wild rhino populations following a recent Constitutional Court ruling on rhino trade. 

The shipment was destined for Hong Kong via Qatar‚ Doha. The goods have been handed over to the South African Police Service and the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigations (Hawks) for further investigation.