Manila - Customs agents seized a shipment of elephant tusks estimated to be worth more than 1 million dollars in the Philippines Monday, officials said.

Customs police inspected the shipment of purported molding machines, which arrived on March 1 from Tanzania, after receiving a tip that the contents were falsely declared.

"When we opened the container, the tip turned out to be true," said Chief Superintendent Joey Yuchongco, customs police chief. "The shipment contained elephant tusks."

Yuchongco said his office was already coordinating with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources on what to do with the elephant tusks.

He said elephant tusks are commonly used in the manufacture of statues, figurines and image replicas of saints, which have a huge market in the predominantly Catholic Philippines.(dpa)