Liberia Citizen Sentenced for Trafficking of Rhinoceros Horns and Elephant Ivory
Liberian national Moazu Kromah, a resident of Uganda, was sentenced to prison for conspiring to traffic in rhinoceros horns and elephant ivory worth millions of dollars, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York said. Kromah will spend 63 months in prison for poaching around 35 rhinoceros and over 100 elephants.
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Kromah worked with two co-conspirators, Guinean Amara Cherif and Kenyan Mansur Mohamed Surur, to engage in smuggling of the horns and ivory, trade in which violates various U.S. laws and international treaties. From 2012 to 2019, the trio conspired to transport, distribute, sell and smuggle at least around 190 kilograms of rhinoceros horns and around 10 tons of ivory from various countries in East Africa, the U.S. Attorney's Office said Aug. 18. The retail value of the horns and ivory was approximately $7.4 million.
The three exported to foreign buyers, including a buyer in Manhattan. Kromah and his co-conspirators were paid via wire transfers, some of which were sent via U.S. financial institutions. “The protection of endangered wildlife and natural resources remains a crucial and important priority for my Office," U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said. "Today’s sentence demonstrates that those who are responsible for the decimation of global populations of endangered and threatened animals protected by international agreements will face serious consequences," he said. "This case also exemplifies our commitment, together with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Drug Enforcement Administration, to work with our international partners to arrest and bring to justice in a U.S. courtroom those who commit these serious crimes abroad.”