More than one ton of smuggled black coral was found in the southern coastal province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau Wednesday.

Investigators said the coral had been brought ashore by Tran Van Tung, a 37-year-old local, on an unlicensed boat anchored around 600 meters offshore.

Tung told the officials that a woman had hired him to transport the illegal coral, but he did not provide her name.

The border guards seized Van’s car along with the coral.

Border guards in Ba Ria-Vung Tau had seized another shipment of 100 kilograms of smuggled black coral earlier this month.

Black coral is bought in the Mekong Delta for VND2.5 million (US$140) a kilogram to make jewelry. It can also be sold in China as a cure for asthma and eye diseases.

Reported by Nguyen Long