Smugglers fined just US$340 over ivory
Source: AFP |
January 30, 2013, Wednesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
FOUR Chinese men who pleaded guilty in a Kenyan court to smuggling thousands of dollars worth of ivory were yesterday fined just US$340 each.
In Nairobi, Magistrate Timothy Okello regretted that the defendants' crime "is still considered as a petty offence" and called for Kenyan laws "to be amended to reflect the gravity of such matters."
The four men were arrested on Sunday carrying ivory items including chopsticks, necklaces and bracelets, as well as two pieces of raw ivory weighing 9.6 kilograms.
The raw ivory alone had an estimated black market value of US$24,000 in Asia, said Patrick Omondi, head of the Kenya Wildlife Service's elephant program.
The smugglers, Qu Rongjun, Liu Xuefeng, Gu Guisheng and Wang Chengbang, were stopped in Kenya while in transit from the Democratic Republic of Congo to Guangzhou airport in south China.
They said they were unaware it was illegal to carry ivory through Kenya.
In Nairobi, Magistrate Timothy Okello regretted that the defendants' crime "is still considered as a petty offence" and called for Kenyan laws "to be amended to reflect the gravity of such matters."
The four men were arrested on Sunday carrying ivory items including chopsticks, necklaces and bracelets, as well as two pieces of raw ivory weighing 9.6 kilograms.
The raw ivory alone had an estimated black market value of US$24,000 in Asia, said Patrick Omondi, head of the Kenya Wildlife Service's elephant program.
The smugglers, Qu Rongjun, Liu Xuefeng, Gu Guisheng and Wang Chengbang, were stopped in Kenya while in transit from the Democratic Republic of Congo to Guangzhou airport in south China.
They said they were unaware it was illegal to carry ivory through Kenya.
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