Tanzanians sentenced to 17-year jail term to 'Queen of Ivory'

The Kisutu Resident Magistrate Court in Dar es Salaam has sentenced a China national Yang Feng Glan nicknamed ‘Queen of Ivory’ and two other Tanzanians to 17 year in jail for leading organised crime and unlawful dealing in 860 pieces of elephant tusks valued at over 13bn/-. 

Principal Resident Magistrate Huruma Shaidi also ordered the convicts to either pay two times the market value of the elephant tusks or go to jail for two years in default of paying the fine in question.

The defence has said they will appeal to the High Court having been dissatisfied by the verdict.

Miss Glan, 66, was arrested in Tanzania and charged with smuggling at least 706 elephant tusks that authorities say are worth about $2.5 million (equivalent to 13bn/-).

CNN reported that, the woman was thought to “be the most notorious ivory trafficker arrested in East Africa in the last decade. She ran a sophisticated supply chain between East Africa and China for about 10 years, Tanzanian authorities say. Many of her suppliers were also arrested.”