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African Wildlife Traffickers Face Long Prison Sentences

VOA News

   A court in Malawi on Mondaysentencedninemembers ofa gang ofwildlife
   traffickers to a total of more than 56 years in prison for dealing in
   endangered species body parts in Africa.

   The Lin-Zhang gang -- named for the husband and wife leaders -- was one
   of the continent's most notorious wildlife trafficking syndicates and
   had been operating out of Malawi for 10 years, said conservation
   groups.

   "Fighting crime on this scale demands sophistication, collaboration,
   courage and tenacity," said Mary Rice, head of the [1]Environmental
   Investigative Agency."Malawi should be immensely proud,and other
   African countries currently battling the scourge of illegal wildlife
   trade would do well to follow this example of global leadership."

   Ricepointed at what she calledMalawi's "political will and
   determination" for thesuccessfulprosecution.

   Police arrestedmembersof the Lin-Zhang syndicate during raids
   inMay2019.The ringleader,Yunhua Lin, was arrested inAugustaftera
   fugitive hunt.He is scheduled to appear in court Wednesday.

References

   1. https://eia-international.org/about-us/

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