Whale teeth worth £18,000 seized from Grove soldier's home

Tevita Lavaki had whale teeth worth more than £18,000 when his home in Grove was searched by the police last September, Oxford Magistrates’ Court heard yesterday (June 29).

The 50-year-old soldier’s illegal sideline selling the valuable whale teeth was uncovered after Oxfordshire County Council’s Trading Standards team received an anonymous tip-off about the social media ads.

READ MORE: Oxfordshire man charged with illegal sale of whale teeth

The council passed the information on to Thames Valley Police, who contacted the national Wildlife Crime Unit.

The UK-wide police unit confirmed that the teeth in the Facebook pictures came from sperm whales, an endangered species listed as ‘vulnerable’ by international conservation chiefs.

Officers followed the trail back to Lavaki, who was the sole director of the company responsible for the Facebook advertisements.

Prosecuting, Nony Umenyiora told the court: “Officers were able to execute a warrant at his address [where] they were then able to seize 41 sperm whale teeth. I believe the value is £18,350.

“There is also evidence to show that the defendant had travelled from Dover to Dunkirk in 2022 [and] Norway to Denmark, where he bought the whales’ teeth.”

At the time, police said it was believed to be the largest seizure of sperm whale teeth in the UK.

Ms Umenyiora said evidence gathered by the police showed he had prepared teeth for onward sale. He had sold ‘at least three’ teeth, the court heard.

When he was interviewed, Lavaki admitted what he had done but claimed not to know he needed a licence to sell the cetaceans’ gnashers.

“He’s admitted he had sold at least three to buyers in the UK [but was] unaware it was illegal in this country and he didn’t have a licence,” Ms Umenyiora said.

The prosecutor told the court that sperm whales, which can grow up to 18 metres and weigh as much as 57 tonnes, were considered ‘at very high risk of extinction in the wild’.

Lavaki, of Mayfield Avenue, Grove, pleaded guilty to three breaches of the Trade in Endangered Species regulations by offering for sale, keeping for sale and selling the sperm whale teeth. He had one previous conviction, from 2020 and in the military courts, for fraud.

Defending, Lucy Ffrench said the pleas were entered on a basis consistent with what he told the police in his interview.

The whale teeth were ‘extremely valuable’ in Fiji, where Lavaki is from. Called tabua, the polished teeth are commonly given as wedding gifts or as presents on other special occasions.

He had bought the teeth for ‘approximately £2,000’, she said.

Lavaki had ‘set out his position’ in his interview, when he said he had wanted the sperm whale teeth ‘for his family’. Ms Ffrench said: “Because he has Fijian friends, he was starting to receive offers for sale.”

She said her client was a lance corporal in the British Army. He was married with three children.

The magistrates adjourned the case for the preparation of a pre-sentence report from the probation service. Lavaki was granted bail to return to the Speedwell Street court on July 26.

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