Smuggler of Rhino Horn & Ivory Sentenced

[douglas9]

MANHATTAN (CN) - A Canadian antiques dealer was sentenced Wednesday to 30 months in prison for smuggling rhinoceros horns, elephant ivory and coral.
Authorities had used a sting operation in the Bronx last year to apprehend Xiao Ju "Tony" Guan after learning that his company, Bao Antiques, in Richmond, British Columbia, had purchased rhinoceros horns from auction houses in Ohio and Florida, according to a sentencing memorandum.
When Guan learned that there were two endangered black rhino horns for sale, he initiated contact with what turned out to be an undercover agent and offered $45,000 in a May 4, 2014, email for the goods.
Later that month, Guan and a woman acting as his interpreter flew to New York, cabbed it to a storage facility in the Bronx and took custody of the horns.
Guan then went to a UPS store and boxed the horns to have them shipped to an address in Point Roberts, Wash., that is less than a mile from the Canadian border, and less than 20 miles from his store.
He was arrested outside the store as Canadian authorities executed a search warrant at his antique business, eventually seizing various wildlife objects made from elephant ivory and coral that were smuggled out of the Unites States and into Canada.

http://www.courthousenews.com/2015/03/26/smuggler-of-rhino-horn-ivory-sentenced.htm

[pipoman]

1. So we're these actually antiques?

The article doesn't say. I believe the law in the US allows for trade if the item is artistically altered and harvested prior to 1974 ..these don't appear to be altered.