The investigations carried out by French customs officials had led to the discovery of several processing workshops for rhino horns and elephant tusks. A way to hide them in powder, shavings, balls or tips in order to sell them more easily in China. For three days, the walls of the Rennes criminal court will house a major case of trafficking in horns and ivory which has undoubtedly cost the lives of dozens of animals in Africa. Nine Chinese, Vietnamese and Irish defendants are tried from Monday before the specialized interregional court of Rennes (Ille-et-Vilaine). Among the defendants are several members of the "Rathkeale Rovers", a criminal group from the Irish Traveler community.

The case began in 2015 with a simple customs check in Vienna.

On board the vehicle, four African elephant tusks from poaching and 32,800 euros in cash.

The passengers, who claim to be second-hand dealers, are revealed to be members of a traveling crime group known as the "Rathkeale Rovers", named after the Irish village in County Limerick.

The latter are regularly prosecuted for theft and trafficking of rhino horns, which they hide behind tarring or roof renovation activities.

Up to 100,000 euros per kilo for resale!

From the arrests of 2015, French customs officials will bring to light two international trafficking networks in raw ivory and horn, both in relation to the “Rathkeale Rovers”. A first Franco-Vietnamese sector was organized around David Ta, a 51-year-old entrepreneur specializing in the export of antiques and perfumes to Asia, according to investigators. A big buyer of raw elephant tusks, he had a direct influence on the prices of the French market. According to the Robin des Bois association, civil party in the lawsuit, the price of rhino horn has soared to 100,000 euros per kilo at retail in Asia in recent years.

In total, investigators counted 62 tusks that passed through his company in six months.

Placed for seven months in pre-trial detention, he has been under judicial supervision since December 2016. “He's an amateur,” assures his lawyer Me Martin Mechin.

The second network is a Franco-Chinese sector evolving in particular around Ching Kit Ha, alias “The boss” of the restaurant Le Dragon in Creil, north of Paris, of the tourist guide Quing Jia and of the “doctor Yang” Daosheng.

The latter "is an ivory collector", assures his lawyer Me William Pineau, who denies any participation in trafficking.

The African black rhino and African forest elephant are critically endangered, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List of Threatened Species.

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