359 ivory tusks from African elephants worth millions of dollars, which were seized by Sri Lankan authorities last year, have been gifted to Buddhist temples.
The tusks were seized by customs officials last year, but following a request from the Presidential Secretariat, they have now been handed over to Buddhist temples.
The Daily Mirror reported that the ivory was valued at a staggering 400 million rupees (over US$3.1 million), coming from hundreds of African elephants.
The trade of African elephant ivory was outlawed in 1989, except for a few very rare circumstances.
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