Officials said the ivory, from an estimated 150 elephants, had likely been collected over a period of two decades and represented "the largest elephant ivory recovery in Kenya in the recent past".

"We suspect these were collected over 20 years; some are pretty old, others are recent, as recent as six months," Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) director Julius Kipng'etich told journalists Monday, surrounded by the seized tusks displayed in Nairobi National Park.

Two suspects have been arrested in connection with the seizure, KWS said.

The ivory, concealed among avocado and packed into 12 wooden crates, was detected by sniffer dogs at Nairobi's international airport.

"It may have been collected from animals that died naturally. Some (tusks) were hacked. Some were just pulled," Kipng'etich said.

"In recent times, cases of illegal trafficking of wildlife products through Kenya's ports to the middle and far east has been a matter of concern," the KWS statement said, noting that wildlife contraband has been intercepted this year in Thailand, Vietnam and Hong Kong.

In November last year KWS officials displayed half a tonne of recently seized tusks.

Kenya currently has an elephant population of some 35,000.

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