The picture shows the arrest scene.

Photo by Hu Bin

The picture shows the scene of the trial.

Photo by Wang Shuyan

  China News Service, Nanning, January 25 (Wang Shuyan) Nanning Customs reported on the 25th that the Fangchenggang Intermediate People’s Court recently issued a first-instance verdict on the "8.28" Extraordinary Illegal Acquisition and Transportation of Rare Animal Products by the Customs Anti-smuggling Bureau. Ren Ma XX is the main criminal of the gang. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison and fined RMB 2 million for the crime of illegally purchasing and transporting precious and endangered wild animal products. The remaining 7 defendants in the gang were sentenced to 5 to 11 years in prison. And be fined accordingly.

The picture shows the pangolin scales involved.

Photo courtesy of Nanning Customs

  According to Nanning Customs, on July 21, 2019, under the unified command of the General Administration of Customs, the customs of Nanning, Harbin, Guangzhou and other places, together with the Public Security Department of Guangxi Autonomous Region, cracked an extremely large case of suspected smuggling of endangered species such as ivory and their products and destroyed it. An international criminal group suspected of smuggling endangered species such as ivory.

At the same time, the Singapore law enforcement agency seized 8.795 tons of ivory and 11.912 tons of pangolin scales from the container declared as timber in accordance with the accurate intelligence guidelines of the Chinese customs.

The picture shows the ivory involved.

Photo courtesy of Nanning Customs

  According to the investigation by Dongxing Customs Anti-smuggling Bureau, the defendant Ma Moumou was the main person in charge of the gang and helped customers purchase ivory, pangolin scales and other endangered animal products in Africa through local people, and provided goods hoarding places and arranged personnel to deliver goods. Responsible for obtaining benefits through translation and other methods.

In May 2019, the gang used the method of camouflage and concealment to ship 8.795 tons of ivory and 11.912 tons of pangolin scales from the Congo (DRC) to Vietnam by sea. They were seized by law enforcement agencies while transiting in Singapore.

It was identified that the ivory seized were Asian elephants and African elephant tusks, and the pangolin scales were large pangolin scales, which belonged to Appendix I species of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), and are the first-level national key protected wild animals.

The precious animal products involved were at least taken from about 275 Asian elephants, African elephants and 1805 giant pangolins.

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