Yang Feng
Glan denies smuggling 706 pieces of ivory out of Tanzania and faces more than
20 years behind bars if she is convicted.
A Chinese
businesswoman nicknamed the Ivory Queen has appeared in a Tanzanian court
charged with running a criminal network which smuggled tusks from more than 350
elephants.
Yang Feng
Glan could face more than 20 years in prison if she is found guilty of
trafficking 706 pieces of ivory from the east African country, which had an
estimated value of more than £1.7m.
The
66-year-old has lived and worked in Tanzania since the 1970s - and shortly
after she was charged in October, her lawyer said she planned to enter a not
guilty plea.
Glan's
alleged crimes took place between 2000 and 2004, and she is being held at the
maximum-security Segerea prison in Dar es Salaam as the trial continues.
She
concealed her face with a blue scarf as she was escorted to and from the
courtroom by officers.
Tanzania's
elephant population has fallen precipitously in recent years.
Conservation
groups say poaching on an industrial scale caused the number of elephants in
the wild to shrink from 110,000 in 2009 to just 43,000 in 2014.
John
Magufuli, who was elected president last November, has vowed to clamp down on
the practice as part of a wider anti-corruption campaign.
Most of the
demand for ivory comes from Asian countries such as Vietnam and China, where it
is often used in jewels and ornaments.
Last month,
Kenya's president set more than 100 tons of ivory alight in an attempt to shock
the world into ending the illegal trade.
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