Three Chinese passengers who were arrested by officials at Zurich airport for carrying a large number of ivory in their suitcases have returned to China after having being questioned by Swiss officers, local officials confirmed Wednesday.
Deputy customs director at Zurich airport Miroslaw Ritschard told Xinhua that the three individuals had returned to China since their arrest on July 6, and that each smuggler had been asked to pay a 100,000 CHF (102,000 U.S. dollars) deposit.
Unable to do so, Ritschard indicated the perpetrators did forfeit a lesser, undisclosed amount of money.
While further investigation is still underway by Switzerland's Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office in conjunction with Chinese authorities, a diplomatic source here in Geneva said that the three individuals should expect to face severe legal punishment according to Chinese laws.
Chinese legislation currently carries a maximum life sentence for individuals who participate in illegal wildlife trading. At the end of May this year, eight individuals were condemned to long custodial sentences for their involvement in forbidden ivory-trading activities.
Earlier this year, Beijing destroyed 660 kg of confiscated elephant ivory, the third public destruction since January 2014 following similar initiatives in Dongguan (6.2 tons crushed) and Hong Kong (28 tons incinerated).
Speaking to Xinhua in May, Secretariat of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) Secretary-General John Scanlon said that China's crackdown on illegal ivory trading has sent an unequivocal message both domestically and internationally that the Chinese government does not and will not tolerate this illegal trade.
The Swiss Customs Administration reported on Tuesday that a record breaking 262 kg of ivory was seized by officials at Zurich airport in July this year.
The ivory, a product which was illegally imported into Switzerland, was placed in eight suitcases belonging to three Chinese nationals traveling from Dar es Salaam in Tanzania to Beijing via Zurich.
The find was discovered by Swiss officials who were conducting a routine security check on the luggage belonging to the three individuals aged between 21 and 37.
According to experts, the elephant tusks, which had been sawn into smaller pieces to fit into the suitcases, had a black market value of around 400,000 CHF.
Also found among the poorly concealed cargo was a kilo of lion fangs and claws. (1 CHF = 1.02 U.S. dollars)
