Japan arrests two in ivory smuggling case

TOKYO, Feb 7 (Reuters) Japanese police arrested two men today on suspicion of smuggling a large haul of ivory into the western city of Osaka last year.

Customs officials discovered a shipment of about three tonnes of ivory in a container registered as ''synthetic marble'' that was brought into the city's port last August, a police official said.

The haul of ivory, equivalent to the tusks of about 100 elephants, was the largest ever seized in Japan, media said.

Police suspect a large-scale smuggling ring may have been involved, Kyodo news agency said.

International trade in elephant ivory is for the most part banned under an international treaty, but ivory remains popular in Japan for use in crafts and to make carved name seals that are used instead of signatures on legal documents.

REUTERS AB RK1756