Clammy commotion: Coast guard personnel inspecting seized giant clam shells weighing a total of 200 tonnes on Green island in Roxas town, Palawan province. — AFP
AUTHORITIES said they had seized some 200 tonnes of illegally harvested giant clam shells worth nearly US$25mil (RM103mil) in one of the biggest known operations of its kind in the country.
Conservationists have expressed alarm over the surging illicit trade in the endangered creatures, which are being used as a substitute for ivory following a global crackdown in the trade of elephant tusks.
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