Dutch Police Seize Two Tons of Coral, Illegal Animal Parts

Dutch police have uncovered a record haul of skins and bones from endangered wildlife, as well as two tons of coral which may be hundreds of years old.

The illegal stash, ranging from ivory jewelery to the skulls of turtles, monkeys and crocodiles, as well as the skins of lizards and snakes, was found during a three-day search of warehouses in the southern province of Brabant, Rotterdam police said.

The haul came to light during a routine search of a container ship which arrived earlier this month from China in the busy port of Rotterdam, the police said in a statement Monday.

Some 345 kilos of coral were found in 15 packing cases on the container ship, and the trail then led police to an office and five warehouses.

Investigators took three days to search the properties, and had to return "with a forklift and truck to take away boxes full of coral and vulnerable species such as turtles, monkeys, bats and crocodiles," the police statement said.

A safe with 500,000 euros ($558,000) in cash and gold was also confiscated, and the 53-year-old owner of the company is being questioned.

Coral along with animals such as sea turtles are protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).

"Coral reefs are the rainforests of the oceans and are seriously threatened," said Peter Hartog, from the Rotterdam police environmental department.

Investigators had "found a complete coral reef" in the search, including blue coral measuring some 40 centimeters (15 inches).

"Coral grows at between 1 and 25 millimeters per year, while a fan coral takes longer. What we found here are pieces of coral which must be hundreds of years old."