Tanzania: Chinese “Ivory Queen” Convicted of Smuggling

A Chinese businesswoman known as the “Ivory Queen” has been found guilty by a Tanzanian court for smuggling elephant tusks.
Yang Fenlan – who has lived and worked in the east African country since the 1970s – has been under investigation for over a year after she was arrested in 2015 for allegedly trafficking elephant tusks between Tanzania and Asia.

Fenlan was charged with heading a large illegal ivory-smuggling ring, which trafficked between 700 and 800 elephant tusks worth $2.5 million to Asia between 2000 and 2014. She was also charged with the slaughter of hundreds of elephants.

Prior to her arrest, the businesswoman served as vice president of the China-Africa Business Council of Tanzania.

Appearing in a court in the capital city of Dar es Salaam on Tuesday, 19 February, Fenlan was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Two Tanzanian nationals – identified as Salvius Matembo and Philemon Manase – who were arrested alongside Fenlan received the same sentence for similar charges.