A gang of eight people stood trialon yesterday in southwest China's Yunnan
Province on the charge of smuggling more than 20 tonnes of pangolin scales worth
20 million yuan (US$2.9 million).
The gang leader, Li Miwei, 39, managed an Internet bar in Menglian County,
Pu'er City, as a front, said the Intermediate People's Court of Kunming City,
the provincial capital.
Li was responsible for contacting buyers and buying pangolin scales from
sellers in Myanmar. His gang then transported them to the county.
He also bribed two clerks at the local post office and mailed the scales to
buyers across the country.
Police caught Li last August and busted the smuggling ring, involving 14
suspects, two months later. They seized a huge quantity of pangolin scales and
four cars, and froze 400,000 yuan.
The court said the gang had been smuggling pangolin scales on the border with
Myanmar since 2001. The scales were mostly bought from India, Thailand, Nepal
and Laos before they were transported to Yunnan via Myanmar.
The endangered armadillo-like creatures are widely hunted for their medicinal
and culinary value.
