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| Location: |
World |
| Subject: |
Trade |
| Species: |
All Rhino Species |
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To Yemen. Yemen's long coastline extends from Saudi Arabia in the west to Oman in the east, making it difficult to control smuggling. The most popular route is via Djibouti and across the Red Sea by boat, usually a zarook (Photo 2).
These dhows carry many smuggled items from Djibouti to Yemen, including whisky and electronic goods. The sailors often cross at Bab al Mandab, the narrowest point where the Red Sea meets the Indian Ocean, and they land near Mocha on the Yemen coast. The three horns known to have reached Sanaa in 1998 were smuggled into Yemen by this route. A Sudanese businessman brought the horns from Sudan to his office in Djibouti, hidden in sacks of foodstuff (such as sesame seeds and groundnuts). A member of the main jambiya family went to Djibouti and bought the horns for $1,200 a kg. This person gave the horns to a boat owner and flew back to Yemen, probably meeting the boat owner at a pre-planned place near Mocha, according to confidential sources in Yemen.
In mid-1999, undercover work was organized by the authors in Djibouti. It was found that rhino horn can sell in Djibouti wholesale for around $600-$800 a kg. Yemeni men in the textile business had recently bought rhino horns, according to Djibouti sources. There is thus no doubt that rhino horn is nowadays being taken to Djibouti and sold there to be exported illicitly to Yemen.
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Price for rhino horn increases in Yemen
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