A Thai court has sentenced three people to prison over the smuggling of nearly two dozen rhinoceros horns worth 1.5 million US dollars from Ethiopia.

The bags carrying the 21 horns were discovered in March last year in a random customs search at Bangkok’s main airport.

Officials found the horns, weighing almost 50 kilograms (110lb), inside luggage originating from Addis Ababa.

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A female rhino who had her horn hacked off by poachers (Prince Harry/PA)

A court in central Thailand on Tuesday handed four-year prison sentences to two Thai women who attempted to claim the luggage before they fled as officers searched their bags, and a public prosecutor who tried to convince airport security to not check the bags.

The three were convicted of smuggling restricted items into the country and evading customs taxes.