The fate of a rhino horn smuggler has been decided by the Jiangnan District Court.
The Jiangnan District Court of Nanning City, Guangxi Province, China, has reportedly sentenced a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) practitioner to 12 years in prison for smuggling rhino horn into China from Vietnam.
According to a case alert on the Chinese website ChinaCourt.org, the Court stated that the suspect ignored national laws regarding the illegal transportation of rare and endangered wild animal products, a “particularly serious” crime, and therefore sentenced to 12 years imprisonment.
Smuggling rhino horns from Vietnam
On December 30th, 2009, the suspect purchased two rhino horns for CNY 430,000.00 (USD 63,245.00) from a Vietnamese national at the center square of Pingxiang City, which borders Vietnam.
After acquiring the horns, he took a taxi to Nanning City. However, he was arrested by the police when he passed the Wu Yu toll station on Nanyou highway.
The police found two rhino horns in a green paper bag, worth an estimated CNY 830,000.00 (USD 122,077.00).
Upon being arrested, the suspect confessed to the police that he made trips into Vietnam to check out the rhino horns before making exchanges in Pingxiang. He would then smuggle the rhino horns to Guangzhou via Nanning.
However, the suspect changed his story in court and said it was the first time he had smuggled rhino horn. He claimed the purpose was not for profits, but for the treatment of his high blood pressure and hepatitis.
Defense lawyers presented medical records to support the suspect’s claim, and asked that a light sentence be given, since the rhino horns were allegedly for personal use and not for profit.
The prosecutor pointed out that the suspect had been in the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) business for over ten years, and had engaged in smuggling rhino horn on several occasions, for the purpose of selling it illegally from his place of business.
Here’s to the Jiangnan District Court for a job well done!
Source: ChinaCourt.org; translation provided by TRAFFIC
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