Over 5 kg of rhino horns seized at airport Tuoitrenews This file photo shows rhino horns recently seized in Viet Nam Ho Chi Minh City customs officers at Tan Son Nhat airport seized more than six sections of rhino horn hidden in the suitcase of a passenger who arrived from a European country yesterday. The passenger, D.V.S., 31, a Vietnamese national, arrived at the airport on Vietnam Airlines flight VN100 on May 20. The total weight of the rhino horn parts is more than 5 kg. The city Customs Department made a report about the discovery and seized the goods for investigation. A similar case occurred on May 4, when customs officers and police at the airport seized 7.28 kg of rhino horns hidden in the suitcase of a Vietnamese passenger who arrived from Qatar. The passenger, N.D.D., 34, arrived on Qatar Airlines flight QR604. After finding suspicions signs on the man’s suitcase, customs officers examined it and discovered the horns packed in silver wrapping and hidden among other items in the suitcase. The Department handed the man and the rhino horns over to police for investigation. Rhino horns are among the goods that are banned from being imported to or exported from Vietnam. Recently, the Vietnamese Government issued a directive banning specimens of rhino and several other wild animals from being traded, exported or imported. Specifically, specimens of white and black rhinos and elephants, as well as products made from their horns, are banned. Any other animals included in the list of the appendices of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES) are also not to be traded. The CITES Management Authority Management regulates the international trade of endangered wildlife. The specimens described above can only be imported under three circumstances. First, the specimens serve diplomatic or scientific research purposes; are to be used for biodiversity conservation, to be displayed at a zoo, or exchanged amongst CITES authorities and its national members. Second, the specimens are non-commercial products that meet the import requirements set by CITES Vietnam and the CITES authority from the exporting country. Finally, specimens that acquired CITES permission for import prior to the release of this directive reserve the right to be brought to the country.