Men sentenced for smuggling wild animal products
Xinhua, May 26, 2015 Adjust font size:
A Beijing court sentenced eight men to prison on Tuesday for purchasing and transporting illegal products, including ivory and the bones of tigers and lions, as China toughens the crackdown on endangered animal smuggling.
Their sentences range from six years to twelve-and-a-half years, the Xicheng District People's Court said in a statement.
The case involved six ivory tusks and 38 sets of products made from tiger and lion bones worth more than 4.2 million yuan (677,000 U.S. dollars), the statement said. The products were smuggled from Southeast Asia and were circulated in a number of Chinese provinces.
Ivory products are rare and highly valued in China, and products made of tiger bones are believed to have medicinal benefits.
The court has tried 70 criminal cases involving wild animals and related products since May 2008. Endi