Chinese Lin-Zhang syndicate Wildlife Trafficking

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www.courthousenews.com/malawi-jails-9-chinese-wildlife-trafficking-gang-members/




LILONGWE, Malawi (AFP) — A Malawi court on Monday jailed seven Chinese nationals and two Malawians for illegal possession of ivory, rhino horns and pangolin scales.

The convicts are members of the Lin-Zhang syndicate, believed to be one of southern Africa’s most active wildlife trafficking gangs.

Nine Chinese nationals and four Malawians were arrested in May 2019 following a series of coordinated raids by the police and wildlife department.

The syndicate’s kingpin Yunhua Lin was arrested in August after a three-month manhunt.

On Monday, a magistrate’s court in the capital Lilongwe handed down verdicts for nine of the 14 detainees.

Lin and his wife Quin Hua Zhang were jailed for 11 years for the illicit possession of rhino horn and firearms.

Two other Chinese nationals were handed seven-year jail sentences for hoarding rhino horn, while the remaining three were slapped with six-year terms for possessing pangolin scales and worked ivory.

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www.milwaukeesun.com/news/265842868/african-wildlife-traffickers-face-long-prison-sentences



The gang members were convicted of trafficking in rhinoceros horn, ivory, hippopotamus teeth, and the keratin scales from armadillo-type mammals called pangolins, one of the most trafficked mammals in Asia and, increasingly, Africa, according to the World Wildlife Fund. Pangolin meat is considered a delicacy, and pangolin scales are used in traditional medicine and folk remedies.

On Monday, Yunhua Lin's wife, Quinhua Zhang, was sentenced to 11 years in prison. Two other Chinese nationals were handed seven-year jail sentences for hoarding rhino horn, and four years for firearms possession. The sentences are to be served consecutively.

Others sentenced Monday received a total of 18 months to five years.

Malawi's head of national parks and wildlife, Brighton Kumchedwa, called the prosecution of the Lin-Zhang gang a victory for Malawi and all wildlife.

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China making friends in Africa.