Suspected ivory smuggler arrested in Kenya
Print Edition
A SUSPECTED Chinese ivory smuggler has been apprehended in Kenya after coordinated efforts between the two countries, China’s wildlife authorities said yesterday.
The suspect, surnamed Xue, was caught in Nairobi on January 17 by Kenyan authorities and extradited to China the next day, the China Endangered Species Import and Export Management Office said.
It is the first time China has arrested a wildlife crime suspect overseas.
Xue is said to have led an ivory trafficking group in Kenya for a long time, and hired couriers to smuggle ivory into China.
Another two suspects, surnamed Zheng and Li, were caught on January 16 and 17 when they were entering China.
The arrests were part of an operation launched at the end of last year by China and several other Asian countries, Africa and North America to crack down on wildlife crimes.
The luggage of a passenger trying to enter China attracted the attention of Customs staff at Taoxian Airport in Shenyang, capital of Liaoning Province in northeast China, on November 27.
The X-ray scanner showed the goods in the luggage were almost the same — small ball-shaped objects. When the case was opened layers of well-sealed opaque bags were found. On the bags were signs claiming there were nuts inside.
The passenger, Zheng, was said to be calm and cooperative, saying they were nuts and he had nothing to declare. He tore open a bag for officers to taste.
But when officers took a bag from the bottom layer, it weighed considerably more than those on top.
The case was found to contain a total of 1,226 ivory beads 1.8 to 2 centimeters in diameter and totaling 8.77 kilograms.
Further investigations led to Xue in Kenya. Xue was said to have been controlling couriers from Kenya to smuggle ivory into China and is alleged to have built a crime ring involved in the purchase, transport and sale of ivory.
Police in Shenyang allege that Xue and Zheng had been buying ivory illegally and paying couriers up to 10,000 yuan (US$1,649) per trip. Xue’s girlfriend, surnamed Li, is said to have helped with Customs clearance.
Fighting the illegal wildlife trade demands cooperation between various countries and departments, but cross-border arrests are difficult as such coordination between countries is far from being fully established, said Meng Xianlin, deputy director of China’s endangered species office.
China’s General Customs Administration and the Ministry of Public Security sent a team to Kenya to work with local police and the case is still under investigation.
Kenya is a major source of illicit ivory, and China is one of the biggest destinations.
“The unprecedented intercontinental cooperation will deter global ivory trafficking, and demonstrates China’s determination to deal with wildlife crime,” the endangered species office said.
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