国内英语新闻:Beijing raid seizes thousands of suspected ivory products

BEIJING, July 12 (Xinhua) -- Beijing police Wednesday seized 3,185 pieces of suspected ivory.

The products -- weighing 48.3 kg combined -- were on display at seven stalls in the Guanxin Market in Chaoyang District. Ten people have been held for questioning.

Police said their investigation had been going on for some time before Wednesday's raid. The items have all been sent to labs to confirm whether they are made of ivory.

Chinese craftsmen have a long history of carving elephant tusks into elaborate artworks, which are often very expensive.

The government plans a full ban on commercial processing and sale of ivory and products by the end of this year.

Police said the illegal ivory trade has been dropping in recent years. Last year, the amount of smuggled ivory tracked down by the authorities fell as much as 80 percent from previous peak years.