Man gets 7 years for smuggling ivory items

A 65-year-old man who tried to smuggle into the country 21 pieces of rhinoceros horn and ivory items worth nearly 3 million yuan (US$489,600) from France was sentenced to seven years in jail by the Shanghai No.1 Intermediate People's Court yesterday.

Dong Fengrong was also ordered to pay a fine of 150,000 yuan for smuggling precious animal products.

Dong caught the eye of the customs at the Pudong International Airport when he tried to go through the "green channel" with three heavy bags about 7am on January 23.

Prosecutors said inspectors seized 14 ivory items weighing 23.14 kilograms and seven rhinoceros horns and horn products weighing 8.1 kilograms from the three luggage cases. The total value was estimated at 2.98 million yuan, the court heard.