A Malaysian wildlife trafficker known as the “Godfather” was sentenced to 18 months in prison for a scheme to sell at least $2.1 million in boiled rhinoceros horns to several buyers – including some in Manhattan, federal prosecutors said Tuesday.
Teo Boon Ching, 58, acted as the middleman in a transnational poaching plot, arranging the shipment of 219 kilograms of rhino horn he received from a co-conspirator in Africa, the feds allege.
According to prosecutors, Ching met with confidential sources in Malaysia in July 2019 to negotiate the sale of the animal parts – promising quick delivery “as long as you have the cash.”
He then sent the person, who has not been identified by authorities, several photos, including one showing a large number of horns.
A month later, the source bought 12 rhino horns from Ching, which were then shipped in suitcases from Thailand, prosecutors said.
A Malaysian wildlife trafficker known as the “Godfather” was sentenced to 18 months in prison. US Attorney’s Office
A forensic examination by a US Fish and Wildlife Service laboratory revealed that two pieces of horn came from black rhinos, which are listed as “critically endangered” – and another 10 belonged to white rhinos, which are “near threatened.”
Ching was arrested in Thailand on June 29, 2022, and extradited to the US that October.
He pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wildlife trafficking on May 8.
Teo Boon Ching was charged with a scheme to sell at least $2.1 million worth of boiled rhino horns to several buyers.EIA
Ching was arrested in Thailand on June 29, 2022, and extradited to the US that October. US Attorney’s Office
“Wildlife trafficking is a serious threat to the natural resources and ecological heritage shared by communities around the world, enriching the poachers responsible for the senseless illegal slaughter of endangered rhinoceros and fueling the market for these illegal products,” said Manhattan US Attorney Damian Williams. in a statement.
“That substantial sentence demonstrates the Office’s determination to use every tool at our disposal to ensure the protection of endangered species.”
Rhino horn has traditionally been used as a Chinese medicine to treat ailments such as fever, rheumatism, gout and others – as well as being a status symbol for the rich and elite, according to advocacy group Save The Rhino.
But other countries – such as Vietnam – believe that rhinoceros horn can improve sexual performance, although the myth has largely been debunked.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
