The Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) has released two Vietnamese nationals arrested last week in connection with an ongoing case of ivory and pangolin scales smuggling worth up to $8 million.
Mr. Dhan Yon Chiew and Mr. Nguyen Son Dong have been released on police bond, said Mr. Vicent Seruma, the Head of URA Public and Corporate Affairs.
“It is their entitlement so they were given bond. We are investigating more things. We will be calling the press to update teh country,” Mr. Seruma said.
Police is now looking for another 18 Vietnamese men involved in the racket. The smuggled goods were concealed in timber logs and could have originated from neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo and passed through South Sudan before entering Uganda. Uganda police discovered the illegal cargo and seized them.
The little-known pangolin is the world’s most trafficked and poached mammal because of the demand for its meat and scales.
The scales are often used in traditional Chinese medicine and its meat is eaten in several countries in Asia and Africa.
