Ivory trade thriving in Laos amid crackdown in neighbouring countries

A raw elephant tusk and carved ivory following a seizure at London's Heathrow Airport

The illegal sale of African ivory in Laos is surging even as neighbouring China phases out its own legal market, a report claims.

Save The Elephants, a Kenya-based conservation group, said on Thursday that the number of Chinese-owned retail outlets selling elephant ivory in the Southeast Asian country increased significantly between 2013 and 2016, and that the majority of buyers are visitors from China.