- A Chinese national dubbed the “Queen of Ivory” has been arrested in Tanzania.
- Yang Feng Glan, 66, has been charged with smuggling 706 elephant tusks with a street value of $2.5 million
- Tanzania has been widely criticized by conservationists and environmentalists for its failures to reign in the ivory trade, which has decimated elephant populations both inside its borders and in neighboring countries.
A Chinese national dubbed the “Queen of Ivory” has been arrested in Tanzania.
Yang Feng Glan, 66, was arrested after returning from Uganda to Tanzania. She has been charged with smuggling 706 elephant tusks with a street value of $2.5 million and faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison.
Tanzania has been widely criticized by conservationists and environmentalists for its failures to reign in the ivory trade, which has decimated elephant populations both inside its borders and in neighboring countries.
The Elephant Action League credited Tanzania’s National and Transnational Serious Crimes Investigation Unit (NTSCIU) with her apprehension.
“It’s the news that we all have been waiting for, for years,” said Andrea Crosta, co-founder of the Elephant Action League and WildLeaks, in a statement. “Hopefully she can lead us to other major traffickers and corrupt government officials. We must put an end to the time of the untouchables if we want to save the elephant.”
Earlier this week the Born Free Foundation estimated that 24,000 have been killed so far this year for their ivory.
