FILE - In this Thursday, April 28, 2016 file photo, ivory statues stand in front of one of around a dozen pyres of elephant tusks, before being burned to encourage global efforts to help stop the poaching of elephants and rhinos, in Nairobi National Park, Kenya. American conservationist Esmond Martin researched the illegal ivory trade in Myanmar shortly before he was killed in Kenya in 2018 and now the research has been released in a report published Tuesday, Oct. 2, 2018 that says the illegal flow of ivory from Myanmar to neighboring China is continuing "largely unabated." (AP Photo/Ben Curtis, File)
JOHANNESBURG – American conservationist Esmond Martin researched the illegal ivory trade in Myanmar shortly before he was killed in Kenya this year. Now the research has been released in a report that says the illegal flow of ivory from Myanmar to neighboring China is continuing "largely unabated."
Save The Elephants, a conservation group based in Kenya, released the study on Tuesday, saying raw and worked ivory from Asian and African elephants is being smuggled in increasing quantities into China, the world's biggest consumer.
China banned its domestic market as of the beginning of this year.
The report says an "unknown murderer" killed Martin on Feb. 4. His body was found in his Nairobi home.
The hottest stories ripped from the headlines, from crime to courts, legal and scandal.
