PHILIPPINES
Asia One (Singapore)
AFP
Saturday, Sep 29, 2012
MANILA – Philippine authorities looking for religious statues made from “blood” ivory were prevented from entering a church where the banned items were allegedly kept, a government investigator said Saturday.
A joint team from the Justice Department’s investigation bureau and the Environment Department were denied entry to the Shrine of the Black Nazarene in the central island of Cebu when they visited on Friday, a member said.
Security guards at the shrine, set up by a priest allegedly linked to the illegal smuggling of ivory, told investigators they would have to speak to the priest’s lawyers first, said Eddie Llamedo, an Environment Department spokesman.
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