TAK: Authorities are trying to track down a pair of centuries-old carved elephant ivory tusks stolen from a Karen village in Umphang district.
The tusks, said to be between 400 and 500 years old, vanished from a pavilion at Letongkhu village in tambon Mae Chan on Thursday night, said Pratheep Porthiem, the chief of Umphang district.
The elaborately carved artefacts are nearly two metres long and have great historical value for Karen tribesmen as they were sacred objects in the village, he said.
After being alerted by the local leader, district authorities sought cooperation from the military, police and other agencies to help find the stolen items. Cooperation from local authorities in Myanmar and ethnic groups along the Thai-Myanmar border opposite Umphang district has also been sought.
All entrances to the village have been closed as the search for the stolen tusks continues, said Mr Pratheep. But so far, there are no clues as to what might have happened.
Karen tribesmen show off carved ivory tusks, considered sacred objects, in a picture taken at an earlier ceremony in Letongkhu village in Umphang district of Tak. (Photo by Assawin Pinitwong)