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Tanzania jails Chinese ivory smuggler for 20 years
A member of the public views a carcass of a male elephant that was killed at Hombe area in Mt Kenya forest on January 9, 2014. PHOTO: JOSEPH KANYI
What you need to know:
- The heavy sentence follows moves by neighbouring Kenya to toughen laws and increase sentences to stop a spate of poaching of wildlife across the wider East Africa region.
- Tanzanian police launched late last year a crackdown on suspected poachers amid a spate of killings of elephant and rhino, operating under what was reported to be a shoot-to-kill policy and making sweeping arrests.
A court in Tanzania jailed on Wednesday a Chinese ivory smuggler for 20 years amid a crackdown to stem a surge in poaching.
Yu Bo, 45, pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of 81 elephant tusks and the skins of two pangolins, which are also known as scaly anteaters, lawyers said.
