Beginning of a trial for international trafficking in ivory and rhino horns – France - Rhino Review

A rhino horn trial is about to begin. Image: As originally published by News in 24 English.

Staff Reporter, News in 24 English | September 4, 2021

Nine Chinese, Vietnamese and Irish defendants are on trial from Monday in France for a vast network of trafficking in ivory and rhino horns. Among them are members of the “Rathkeale Rovers”, a criminal group from the Irish Traveler community. The trial is to be held in Rennes (west) until September 8.

The case began with a simple customs control in September 2015 in Vienne (central west). On board the vehicle, four African elephant tusks and 32,800 euros (over 35,5000 francs) in cash.

The passengers, who claim to be second-hand dealers, are revealed to be members of a traveling crime group known as the ‘Rathkeale Rovers’, named after the Irish village in County Limerick (southwest of the island). The members of this group, established throughout Europe, are regularly prosecuted for theft and trafficking of rhino horns, which they hide behind tarring or roof renovation activities.

Two international networks discovered

From the arrests of 2015, French customs officials will unearth two international trafficking networks in raw ivory and horn, both in relation to the “Rathkeale Rovers”.

A first Franco-Vietnamese sector was organized around David Ta, a 51-year-old entrepreneur specializing in the export of antiques and perfumes to Asia, according to investigators. A big buyer of raw elephant tusks, he had a direct influence on the prices of the French market.

Investigators counted 62 tusks that passed through his company in six months. Placed for seven months in pre-trial detention, he has been under judicial supervision since December 2016. “He’s an amateur,” assures his lawyer Me Martin Mechin. The second network is a Franco-Chinese sector evolving in particular around Ching Kit Ha, alias “The boss” of the restaurant “Le Dragon” in Creil, north of Paris, the tourist guide Quing Jia and “Doctor Yang” Daosheng. The latter “is an ivory collector”, assures his lawyer Me William Pineau, who denies any participation in trafficking.

Transformation workshops

During their investigations, customs officials however discovered several processing workshops for horns and tusks. Rhinoceros horns were processed into powder, shavings, balls or tips to be exported and sold more easily in China.

According to the Robin des Bois association, civil party in the lawsuit, the price of rhino horn has soared to 100,000 euros (108,286 francs) per kilo at retail in Asia in recent years.

The African black rhino and African forest elephant are critically endangered, according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species.

Read the original story here.

Staff Reporter, News in 24 English | September 4, 2021

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Beginning of a trial for international trafficking in ivory and rhino horns – France

Staff Reporter, News in 24 English | September 4, 2021

Previous PostMore than 4,000 new elephants in Kenya show anti-poaching efforts work, wildlife census confirms

Next PostNew project to track endangered species coming back from brink

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