Photo: PoliceAFP · 19 Aug 2016, 12:11Published: 19 Aug 2016 12:11 GMT+02:00French customs officials said Friday they had intercepted some 2,000 dead seahorses, prized in Asia for use in traditional medicine and as aphrodisiacs. The "dead and dehydrated" seahorses -- a protected species -- were found on July 28th and August 8th hidden in airmail packages sent from the west African country of Guinea destined for Vietnam, it said. Paris customs official Olivier Gourdon told AFP that seahorses, protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), are confiscated "pretty often". He said they are generally trafficked from African countries to Vietnam as well as China and Japan. In addition to their use in traditional medicine and as aphrodisiacs, seahorses are sold to tourists as souvenirs, Gourdon said.

Source: The Local August 19, 2016 10:07 UTC