Friday 5 December 2014

Canadian rhino horn smuggler pleads guilty in New York court

Xiao Ju Guan, also know as Tony Guan, a Canadian antiques dealer, pleaded guilty November 25 in a federal court in New York City to attempting to smuggle rhinoceros horns from New York to Canada.

Guan was arrested in March as part of Operation Crash, a nationwide crackdown on illegal trafficking in rhinoceros horns, for his role in smuggling rhinoceros horns as well as items carved from elephant ivory and coral from auction houses throughout the United States to Canada, the U.S. Department of Justice said.

As part of his plea, Guan admitted that he, and others acting at his direction, smuggled more than
$400,000 of rhino horns and sculptures made from elephant ivory and coral from various U.S. auction houses to Canada.

The offence carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. He is scheduled to be sentenced on March 13, 2015.

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