MOSCOW, July 30. /TASS/. Domodedovo customs officers have found the tusks of an endangered walrus species in a passenger’s luggage, Russia’s Federal Customs Service reported.
According to it, the tusks of the animal, which is on the Red List of Threatened Species of the International Union for Conservation of Nature, were being transported by a 48-year-old collector of bone artifacts who was on his way to Egypt. While inspecting his luggage, officers found 11 suspicious items that looked like tusks.
"The customs officers seized the tusks and sent them for examination. It established that the half-meter incisors belong to the Atlantic walrus, which is listed in Russia’s Red Data Book, and is of great cultural value," the press service said. "We are now considering launching a criminal case. The man faces up to five years imprisonment and a fine of up to one million rubles (almost 11,591 dollars)," the agency added.
The passenger claimed that he bought the walrus tusks at a flea market. He said he planned to use them to make table legs. He did not have the proper paperwork to take the tusks out of Russia.