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Vietnamese gets 5-year imprisonment in Kenya for possessing wildlife trophy

Xinhua, January 14, 2015 Adjust font size:

A Kenyan court on Tuesday sentenced a Vietnamese national found in possession of wildlife trophy to 5 years imprisonment.

The Office of the Director for Public Prosecutions said Bui Dong, who was found in possession of game trophies that include ivory and lion jaw teeth, will serve five years imprisonment or pay a fine of about 11,000 U.S. dollars.

The Vietnamese national was arrested with two pieces of an elephant skin and two teeth of a lion at the country's main airport last year. The male suspect was nabbed during the screening time while trying to fly out of the country to Bangkok. Poachers kill elephants and rhinos for their tusks, which are used for ornaments and in some folk medicines. The killing of elephants, rhino and other wildlife species is having a huge impact on tourism sectors of countries such as Kenya, and the authorities have stepped up surveillance on traffickers.

Wildlife conservationists have decried the entry of organized crime syndicates into the illegal wildlife trade, most notably of rhino horn and elephant ivory, which they said, has created a crisis situation in many African countries. Endi