Çağatay Kenarlı / Istanbul, April 21 () - Turkey's anti-smuggling police captured 82 pieces of ivory and mors tusk, 130 cm. long alligator skin, 4.1 kilogrammes of red coral and 7.2 kilogrammes of amber worth of 500,000 liras (185,000 dollars) in historic Grand Bazaar in Istanbul.

The anti-smuggling police, with Forest and Water Works Ministry and National Parks Administration offcials, bust a shop in Grand Bazaar on an espionage, on Tuesday and captured the materials ready to be sold.

The police said the materials cantured were banned to trade depending upon the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

The convention was opened for signature in 1973, and CITES entered into force on 1 July 1975. Its aim is to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten the survival of the species in the wild, and it accords varying degrees of protection to more than 35,000 species of animals and plants.

In order to ensure that the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) was not violated, the Secretariat of GATT was consulted during the drafting process.

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- Ivory and mors tusk
- Merchandise made by ivory and mors tusk
- General and detail views

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