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Seized carved elephant tusk - Source: Supplied
Elephant tusks were among dozens of items seized in a search at a Napier property.
A search warrant was executed after a carved elephant tusk addressed to the property was intercepted at the International Mail Centre in Auckland.
The tusk had been posted from France and did not have the required import permit.
Forensic tests will be carried out to determine whether the 69 items, which include statues, carvings and pieces of tusk, are made from the ivory of endangered elephants.
''African and Asian elephants are at high risk of extinction because poachers continue to kill them for their tusks despite a global ban on trading in ivory," senior investigator Dylan Swain says.
"There has been a surge in demand for ivory in Asia and this is believed to be fuelling the illegal trade in elephant tusks," said Swain.
The ban on trading ivory was imposed in 1989 by 175 countries that are parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES).
New Zealand became a party to CITES in 1989.
The maximum penalty for importing endangered wildlife specimens into New Zealand without a permit is five years imprisonment and/or a fine of up to $100,000.
A Napier man is assisting with inquiries.