Three people have been arrested in Kwai Chung for importing 1,932 kilograms of ivory worth about $2.7 million.

At about 3.30pm yesterday, Customs officers searched two containers being driven away from Kwai Chung Container Terminal and found 47 bags of ivory, camouflaged by tree trunks.

A 54-year-old driver, a 59-year-old man and a 49-year-old woman employed by a trading company were arrested. The driver was released while the other two were freed on bail pending further investigations.

Initial enquiries showed the containers, declared to be containing 300 woodcarvings, arrived in Hong Kong on October 12 from Indonesia. It is believed the unmanifested ivory was from Tanzania.

Under the Import & Export Ordinance, the maximum penalty for importing unmanifested cargo is $2 million and seven years in prison, while under the Animals & Plants (Protection of Endangered Species) Ordinance, the maximum penalty is $5 million and two years' jail.