Three traffickers and seven frozen tiger cubs. — Photo courtesy of Education for Nature – Việt Nam |
HÀ NỘI — The People’s Court of Hà Nội on Wednesday sentenced Nguyễn Hữu Huệ to six years in prison for illegally trafficking seven frozen tiger cubs.
Phan Văn Vui and Hồ Anh Tú, two accomplices of Huệ, each received a jail sentence of five years.
According to the indictment, the three traffickers were arrested when they were transporting the frozen cubs for sale on July 23, 2019.
The traffickers admitted to the police that the frozen cubs originated from a farm in Laos.
Huệ was considered the ringleader of an endangered wildlife trafficking ring.
Education for Nature – Việt Nam, a Vietnamese non-governmental organisation focused on the conservation of nature and the environment, said imprisoning the traffickers demonstrates the attention local authorised agencies are giving to wildlife crime.
However, the penalty was too lenient and would not deter future wildlife traffickers, the organisation said. — VNS