![]() In some regions of Asia, rhino horns are regarded as status symbols and are said to offer therapeutic benefits. ![]() The International Convention on the Trading in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) protects rhinos and prohibits the trade in rhino horns internationally. Sniffer dogs discovered the contraband, which belonged to a traveler going from South Africa to Laos. This week, authorities in Singapore confiscated an $830,000 shipment of rhino horn, the largest ever haul.Ģ0 pieces of horn weighing a combined 34kg (75lbs) were found in two pieces of luggage on Tuesday at Singapore Changi Airport, according to the National Parks Board of Singapore. The department’s penalties bar Teo and others from accessing any real estate or financial assets kept in the US and forbid US companies and residents from doing business with them.įor endangered animals, Southeast Asia is a significant source as well as a major market. ![]() Teo Boon Ching “has eluded justice and continued to conduct his criminal transportation operation despite being publicly linked to the illicit wildlife trade for years,” the government claimed. The Treasury Department claimed in a statement that Teo Boon Ching “specializes in the transportation of rhino horn, ivory, and pangolins from Africa, often employing routes through Malaysia and Laos and onward to clients in Vietnam and China.” It was unclear at the time if Teo had a lawyer who could speak on his behalf.įor accused of “cruel trafficking” and dealing in the “products of savage poaching,” the US Treasury Department earlier on Friday imposed sanctions against Teo, his alleged transnational criminal organization, and a Malaysian company.Īccording to Brian Nelson, undersecretary of the Treasury Department for financial and terrorism intelligence, wildlife trafficking poses a threat to conservation efforts and “global security.” He is charged in the US with two counts of money laundering and one count of conspiring to deal in wildlife.Īccording to a statement from the Justice Department, the trafficking conspiracy charge carries a possible sentence of five years in prison and the money laundering charge a maximum sentence of 20 years in jail.
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