![]() ![]() The landmark cases are notable both for the scale of the operation and because they led to the jailing of the first non-African nationals for wildlife offences in Malawi. Lin’s sentencing brings the total of Lin-Zhang gang members sent to prison to 14 10 Chinese and four Malawian nationals have received jail sentences for a variety of offences related to the possession of firearms and protected or listed species, including pangolins, rhino horns, hippo teeth and elephant ivory. She also emphasised that the traffickers were encouraging poaching and therefore needed to receive a more serious punishment than poachers as a deterrent, stating: “The pieces of rhino horn came from not one but five different rhinos … what’s more, the court feels that Mr Yunhua Lin was a mastermind as he owns all the properties where specimens were found.” In her statement, High Court Judge Justice Violet Chipao highlighted aggravating circumstances, in particular Lin’s conduct in absconding from justice for three months, as well as the evidence that pointed to his role as gang leader. He will be deported back to China on completion of the jail term. In court today, he was sentenced to 14 years for dealing in rhino horn, 14 years for possession of rhino horn and six years for money laundering the sentences will run concurrently so he will serve a total of 14 years. He was arrested in August 2019 alongside Malawian national James Mkwezelemba following a three-month manhunt by the authorities. LONDON: The kingpin of one of Southern Africa’s most prolific wildlife trafficking syndicates was today sentenced to serve 14 years in prison in Malawi.Ĭhinese national Yunhua Lin was the head of the ‘Lin-Zhang gang’, which has been operating out of Malawi for at least a decade. Yunhua Lin, left, at the court in Malawi, 28 September 2021 (c) EIA
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