AKIPRESS.COM - Elephant ivory weighing 8.8 tonnes has been seized in Singapore, with authorities saying the haul is the biggest ever in the city-state's history, Sky News reports.

The elephant tusks were discovered in a Vietnam-bound container from the Democratic Republic of Congo. Also in the illegal cargo were scales from the giant pangolin.

This is the third major seizure of pangolin scales in Singapore in 2019. Altogether, the haul was valued at $48.6m (£39.1m).

The haul of ivory came from an estimated 300 elephants, with almost 2,000 giant pangolins believed to have been killed for the 11.9 tonnes of scales found in the raid.

The haul falls just short of the 9.1 tonnes of ivory seized in Vietnam back in March, which the Environmental Investigation Agency said was the largest ever haul in the world.

"The seized pangolin scales and elephant ivory will be destroyed to prevent them from re-entering the market," the Singapore Customs, Immigration and Checkpoints Authority and the National Parks Board confirmed.

Authorities in Singapore said China's General Administration of Customs had shared the information about the illegal haul.