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2 Chinese citizens jailed for killing 226 elephants in Africa

2016-03-25 PandaGuidesOfficial

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By Terry


2 Chinese poachers have been sentenced to 35 years in prison by a Tanzanian court for killing 226 elephants. Huang Gin, 53, and Xu Fujie, 25, were arrested at a house in Dar es Salaam back in 2013 and were found to be in possession of 706 pieces of elephant ivory valued at US$3.1 million. They received 30 years in jail for ivory smuggling and bagged an extra 5 for bribery of police and wildlife officers.

 


The 2 men entered the east African country in 2010 under the guise of garlic importers and marine product exporters. The ivory was in fact discovered in sacks of garlic in the house where the two men lived. 


Xu Fujie and Huang Qin were given options of a jail time or paying a whooping sum of Sh100.7 billion ($46 million) to avoid jail. Proceedings were temporally halted and the case adjourned after Xu almost collapsed from shock on hearing the court’s decision. A local newspaper, The Citizen says it was, "one of the heaviest sentences aimed at curbing the illegal trade."

 


“Considering the evidence adduced in court and the huge loss that the nation has suffered for the killing of 226 elephants, it is obvious the accused are a real threat to the elephant population.” Said magistrate Cyprian Mkeha as he handed down the sentence. 


Many conservationists have welcomed the sentence saying it would serve as a deterrent to other poachers who have continued to undermine conservation efforts.


This is not the first time Chinese citizens are involved in the illegal poaching of African elephants. Last year, Yang Feng Glan, a Chinese woman in her 60s and dubbed the “ivory queen,” was charged with the smuggling of 706 elephant tusks from Tanzania to China worth US$2.5 million. She is in custody awaiting trial.

 

Source: Shanghaiist.com & TheCitizen.co.tz


Poaching has been on the rise in recent years across sub-Saharan Africa, where armed gangs kill elephants for their tusks and rhinos for horns, which are then smuggled to various Asian countries for use in ornaments and medicines.


A 2013 report found that 90% of the elephant population in Chad had been killed by poachers leaving just about 500 in the wild.




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