Hong Kong authorities made their largest haul of contraband ivory in more than 30 years, in a container from Malaysia. 

Reuters reported that Customs officials said on Thursday that they seized 7,200kg of ivory tusks, valued over HK$72 mil (RM40 mil) from the 40-foot container declared to hold frozen fish, in a cargo warehouse beside the city's harbour. 

According to a customs official, the frozen fish were put around the ivory to prevent detection. 

Conservation group estimated the tusks were probably taken from 720 elephants. 

Hong Kong authorities are probing the shipment's final destination. The country is reportedly one of the world's top global transit hubs for endangered species and products. 

Countries such as China, Singapore and the United States have all banned the ivory trade but Hong Kong has only scheduled a ban by 2012. The port city has the largest retail market for ivory, with 90 percent of consumers from mainland China. 

An independent environmental agency last week identified Shuidong, a southern Chinese coastal town close to Hong Kong, as the hub for 10 to 20 Chinese-led criminal syndicates bringing in ivory from Africa.  

African rangers detailed harrowing firsthand tales of elephant poaching during a June visit to Hong Kong, an event marked by a tense standoff with traders who say their business is legal.