Elephant toenails seized in huge LAX animal contraband haul

Elephant toenails and turtle skulls are among the thousands of items that have been seized by customs and environment officials at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) since October 2023.

US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and agriculture specialists, in coordination with the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), detained 4,227 animal products including taxidermy baby crocodiles, sea cucumbers, and kangaroo meat.

Products destined for addresses across the US arrived in individual packages via air mail from Singapore, Vietnam, Australia, China, Thailand, the UK, Mexico, and Peru.

CBP has urged travellers to check wildlife regulations to determine if a wildlife product can be exported or imported.