End the Killing of Elephants for VN Ivory Trade

News from the frontlines

In 2025, our crime fighters received a total of 72 wildlife crime cases involving 188 violations related to elephant ivory. Most of these reported violations involved advertising and selling ivory products on social media. Our team successfully addressed 203 ivory crime cases in 2025; many of these cases were initially reported during the previous period.

Below are examples of ENV successes involving ivory in 2025:

On January 6, 2025, Phu Xuyen District Police in Hanoi confiscated 11.7 kg of elephant ivory pieces being transported by a delivery service during an operation undertaken in cooperation with ENV. Later, police arrested the owner at his residence in Tay Ninh (Case ref. 32378/ENV).

On April 3, 2025, Facebook responded to mass crime reporting from ENV staff, volunteers, and members of the public and deactivated a wildlife trading group called "Fengshui Ivory Jewelry", which contained 19,221 members. The mass reporting took place during ENV's monthly Wildlife Crime Cyber Day campaign on March 19, 2025. The group, which facilitated the buying and selling of elephant ivory, tiger, and bear products, was first reported to ENV by a member of the public (Case ref. 33003/ENV).

On April 16, 2025, Facebook removed a wildlife trading group named "Feng Shui Decorative Ivory", which had 21,772 members, following a report submitted by ENV through the Ministry of Communications. The group, which was facilitating the sale of elephant ivory, tiger, and bear products, was initially reported to ENV by a member of the public (Case ref. 28131/ENV).

On April 22, 2025, the Economic Department of Hanoi City Police arrested a woman and confiscated 5.5 kg of African elephant (Loxodonta africana) ivory pieces and four ivory pendants during an operation undertaken in cooperation with ENV. The subject had previously been arrested in 2018 for smuggling 2.38 kg of ivory products. After checking her phone, police found her supplier's contact and then quickly inspected the supplier’s residence, where they confiscated an additional 1.1 kg of ivory. On September 18, 2025, a Hanoi court sentenced the woman to 16 months in prison, while her supplier was given a 14-month suspended sentence with 28 months of probation. The ivory products were destroyed (Case ref. 12083/ENV).

On August 1, 2025, Khanh Hoa Provincial Police, acting on an ENV report, inspected a shop catering to Chinese tourists and seized rhino horns, rhino horn pieces, elephant ivory statues, bear bile vials, gallbladders, pangolin scales, tiger bone TCM bars, and other wildlife products. Additionally, numerous undocumented health food products were found. At the time of the inspection, 29 Chinese and 33 Vietnamese individuals were working at the shop. Three Chinese individuals and a Vietnamese woman were arrested (Case ref. 33639/ENV).

On November 5, 2025, Angolan authorities arrested three Vietnamese men and confiscated 57 elephant tusks weighing a total of 426 kg. One of the subjects was involved in several previous ivory seizure cases in which shipments were sent from Angola to Vietnam. He is currently working as a loan shark at a casino in Venice City, Luanda, Angola (Case ref. 35102/ENV).

On December 15, 2025, Thuong Tin Commune Police of Hanoi, in response to a report from ENV, arrested a well-known wildlife trafficker and confiscated 2.6kg of African elephant (Loxodonta africana) ivory. The subject used a clone account to advertise rhino horn and ivory products. He was also reportedly the owner of 9.8 kg of ivory tusks seized in Ninh Binh province in 2024 (Case ref. 16520/ENV).

Until next time, we look forward to sharing more updates on what your donations have helped achieve,

The ENV Team

Links:

• ENV's website

Thanks to your support, ENV is making critical progress in the fight to end wildlife trafficking and the killing of elephants for the ivory trade in Vietnam. From January through August, ENV documented 1,743 cases involving more than 5,680 violations, including 59 cases related to ivory and other elephant byproducts. Of these, 35 cases were recorded online, while 13 new cases were identified during the Dak Lak elephant CRC survey in August. These findings underscore that the ivory trade remains a persistent challenge in Vietnam, but they also highlight ENV’s leadership in uncovering violations and laying the groundwork for stronger enforcement action.

Building on these efforts, the following cases highlight the scale of the ivory trade and the tangible results achieved through coordinated enforcement:

• On April 22, 2025, the Economic Department of Hanoi City Police arrested a woman and confiscated 5.5 kg of African elephant (Loxodonta africana) ivory pieces and four ivory pendants during an operation undertaken in cooperation with ENV. The subject had previously been arrested in 2018 for smuggling 2.38 kg of ivory products. After checking the woman’s phone, police found the supplier’s contact information and quickly inspected the supplier’s residence, where they confiscated an additional 1.1 kg of ivory (Case ref. 12083/ENV).

• In April 2025, Facebook removed a major wildlife trading group with more than 19,000 members after coordinated mass reporting through ENV’s Wildlife Crime Cyber Day campaign. The group had been facilitating the sale of elephant ivory, tiger, and bear products, and its removal dealt a significant blow to the illegal online wildlife trade in Vietnam (Case ref. 27824/ENV).

• As a result of ENV’s prosecution efforts, a long-time ivory trader in Hanoi was arrested in October 2024 after being caught with 2.3 kg of tusks en route to ship them, with an additional 21.8 kg seized from his home. In January 2025, the Thuong Tin District Court sentenced him to five years in prison, and all confiscated ivory was destroyed (Case ref. 19274/ENV), marking a strong outcome on the prosecution front.

• Another success story from ENV’s prosecution front began in February 2024, when Ho Chi Minh City Police, in cooperation with ENV, arrested an online trader who had been repeatedly detected selling ivory alongside other wildlife products. Despite prior warnings, the trader continued advertising ivory, claws, and canines online until his arrest during a sting operation. In May 2025, he was sentenced to 18 months in prison, and all confiscated wildlife products were destroyed (Case ref. 25355/ENV). This case highlights ENV’s persistence in tracking ivory traders and ensuring accountability through the courts.

In August 2025, ENV carried out a Consumer Reduction Campaign in Dak Lak Province to address the illegal trade in elephant products. As part of this effort, the Wildlife Crime Unit and Dak Lak Outpost members surveyed 227 business establishments, of which 20 were found in violation for selling items made from ivory, tail hair, and bone. Notably, 27 establishments previously recorded with violations were not found selling elephant products during this survey, indicating measurable progress in reducing availability. While the presence of newly identified violators highlights ongoing challenges, these findings underscore the importance of continued monitoring and enforcement to support long-term efforts to protect elephants in Vietnam.

With your support, ENV is driving meaningful change against the ivory trade in Vietnam. Together, we are saving elephants from being killed for their tusks, reducing demand, and holding traffickers accountable. The fight is not yet over, but with your help, we are building a future where elephants are safe from the ivory trade.

Links:

• ENV's website