Authorities in Kenya seized one of the largest hauls of illegal elephant ivory at the port of Mombasa, 3,287 kilograms.  It was falsely labeled as “peanuts” and loaded into a 20-foot shipping container awaiting transfer to Malaysia.

“Some of the ivory weighs almost 60 kilograms an indication that they were hacking off ivory from big elephants,” said Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) spokeswoman Fatuma Yussuf, adding that it had been packed locally.

Arthur Tudor the director Kenya Wildlife Service’s (KWS) Coastal region said the kind of ivory originated from elephants from the savannah that include Kenyan national parks and neighboring countries.

Three companies are now under investigation:  The Fresh Produce Company in Nairobi, whose label concealed the poached ivory; the Mombasa-based SeaFate Freight company that attempted to transfer it; and Hai Chauna Enterprises in Malaysia which was to receive it.

This giant haul is the latest in a series of illegal ivory shipments stopped by African authorities.  Last Tuesday, more than 775 pieces of ivory packaged in Uganda and destined for Malaysia were also impounded at the port of Mombasa.

In January, KWS officials said that 3.8 tons of ivory were seized, also at Mombasa, apparently on transit from Tanzania to Indonesia.

Earlier this month, US President Barack Obama dedicated $10 Million to fighting ivory poaching and smuggling.  But that’s a drop in the ocean compared to the $7 to $10 Billion that ivory smuggling is said to be worth every year.