Judge Christina Snyder remarked that she had traveled to Africa and personally witnessed the effects of poaching, as she sentenced Vinh Chuong "Jimmy" Kha and Felix Kha to 42 months and 46 months in prison, respectively. The Khas, who prosecutors said “sat at the apex of the rhino horn smuggling pyramid within the United States,” pleaded guilty last year to charges including conspiracy, smuggling, wildlife trafficking, money laundering and tax evasion for their part in the trade.
Saying she wanted to send a message against the “extremely serious” crime of trafficking in rhinoceros horns, a federal judge on Wednesday sentenced a father and son to nearly four years in prison for selling hundreds of pounds of horns highly prized in Vietnam and China as a CANCER CURE.
“There are parts of Africa where rhinos are completely gone,” the judge said from the bench. “Lord knows if they’ll ever come back.”
They also noted that the pair indirectly paid a $150,000 bribe to a Vietnamese official who had stopped a shipment of the horns, which can net up to $25,000 a pound.
The men were also ordered to pay taxes owed as well as a fine of $10,000 each. The Khas were arrested as a result of Operation Crash, an 18-month investigation into the trafficking of rhino horns that led to arrests in a dozen states.
Federal wildlife agents seized more than $2 million in cash, gold bars and precious stones, along with rhino horns, hoofs and other body parts, while breaking up an international smuggling ring.
Read More... http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-rhino-horn-trafficking-20130515,0,3180321.story
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