'In terms of monetary value, ivory trade has surpassed drugs and is now one of the most thriving illegal trade in the continent,' said Karl Karugaba, the head of a panel from the Lusaka Agreement Task Force.

He told reporters in Naivasha that the large amount of contraband nabbed at various African airports pointed to rising demand, but did not cite any figures.

He spoke at the end of a conference of monitors drawn from Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia, Lesotho and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The Lusaka Agreement, which came into force in 1992, is designed to help African law enforcement agencies tackle wildlife smuggling.

A global wildlife trade monitoring group, TRAFFIC, on Friday said Thailand is Asia's largest illegal elephant ivory market and shows few signs of addressing the problem. -- AFP