A man in Vietnam was sentenced to 13 years imprisonment on 21 February for trafficking up to 10 tons of endangered African animal parts, including rhino horns and elephant tusks.
News24 reported that ‘the court in the central coastal city of Danang found Nguyen Duc Thai, 33, guilty of transporting elephant tusks, ivory, pangolin scales, and lion bones from Africa to Vietnam in 2021, the police-run ministry of public security said.’
Picture: GettyImages
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Although the ivory trade is illegal in Vietnam, the country still has widespread wildlife trafficking.
Deputy director of the wildlife protection group, Bui Thi Ha, said ‘Tai’s conviction on Tuesday was a rare case where authorities had successfully convicted someone for criminal liability in wildlife trafficking,’ Reuters reported.
Ha said in an email that ‘although it is very regrettable that [they] have been unable to find and prosecute the real people behind this shipment of nearly 10 tonnes of wild animals, the initial success of the Danang city’s prosecutors … is remarkable, worthy of being an example for others.’
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