Chinese officials who accompanied Chinese President Xi Jinping on a visit to Tanzania last year went on a buying spree for illegal elephant ivory, an environmental activist group has claimed. The report by the Environmental Investigation Agency cites two local ivory traders as saying that the large Chinese government and business delegation bought so much ivory while in the country that prices doubled. The two traders claimed that a fortnight before the state visit, Chinese buyers began purchasing thousands of kilos of ivory, the report says. That ivory was later sent to China in diplomatic bags on the presidential plane, the dealers said, according to the report.
@highlight
Environmental group claims Chinese delegation went on an ivory buying spree in Tanzania
@highlight
It cites local traders saying the ivory was sent back to China on the presidential plane
@highlight
China's government has not responded to CNN requests for comment on the claims
@highlight
Tanzania lost equivalent of 30 elephants a day in 2013, environmental group says
He said the price of ivory doubled during the @placeholder visit to $700 per kilo.