NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- A Kenyan citizen pleaded guilty to trafficking ivory and horns from endangered species to Manhattan in a New York federal court on Wednesday.
Mansur Mohamed Surur helped run a business that profited from the poaching of more than 35 rhinoceros and 100 elephants from various countries in East Africa.
His co-defendants, Moazu Kromah of Liberia and Amara Cherif of Guinea, pleaded guilty on Monday and Friday respectively.
Another conspirator, Badru Abdul Aziz Saleh, is currently detained in Kenya and a fifth, Abdi Hussein Ahmed, is a fugitive with a $1,000,000 bounty on his head.
From December 2012 to May 2019, the group worked out of Uganda to export illegal rhinoceros horn and elephant ivory all over the world, including to buyers in Manhattan.
During that time, they sold at least 190 kilograms of horn worth more than $3.4 million and at least 10 tons of ivory worth at least $4 million.
In March 2018 law enforcement intercepted a black rhinoceros horn hidden in an art piece bound for Manhattan, leading to the investigation that brought down the smugglers.
“The protection of endangered wildlife and natural resources is a crucial and important priority for my Office,” said U.S. Attorney Damian Williams. “These defendants were responsible for furthering an industry that illegally slaughters species protected by international agreements around the world.”
Related
Related
