HONG KONG — Customs officials in Hong Kong on Friday announced one of the largest seizures of smuggled ivory ever made in the city — and their fifth since October — highlighting the pervasiveness of a trade that conservationists describe as an all-out crisis for elephant populations in Africa.

The shipment, consisting of 1,148 tusks weighing in at 2,183 kilograms, about 4,800 pounds, was worth an estimated $2.25 million, according to a customs department statement.

The tusks were concealed in a container coming from the West African nation of Togo.

Rising affluence in Asia has caused demand for ivory and many other wildlife products to soar in recent years, putting many animal and plant species under severe pressure.

Despite rising awareness and warnings that poaching has pushed some species to the brink of extinction, enforcement and penalties often remain weak, and represent an insufficient deterrent to poachers and smugglers, wildlife experts say.