Guinea citizen Amara Cherif was sentenced to serve 57 months in U.S. federal prison for conspiring to traffic in millions of dollars in rhinoceros horns and elephant ivory, both parts of endangered wildlife species. For approximately seven years, Cherif and his co-conspirators conspired to transport, distribute, sell, and smuggle at least 190 kilograms of rhinoceros horns and 10 tons of elephant ivory from several African countries to buyers in the United States and Southeast Asia. From the product weight, it is estimated that more than 35 rhinoceroses and 100 elephants were poached. This outstanding investigative work was done by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Office of Law Enforcement with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. Additional partners include U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Department of Justice, the Uganda Wildlife Authority, the Uganda Office of the Director of Public Prosecution, the Uganda Police Force, the Kenya Directorate of Criminal Investigations, and the Kenyan Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.
DOJ’s Press Release: Wildlife Trafficker Sentenced To 57 Months For Large-Scale Trafficking Of Rhinoceros Horns And Elephant Ivory
