Chinese Queen of Ivory In Jail

 Described as "extremely wealthy and extremely connected" in China and Tanzania,Yang Feng Glan, "Queen of Ivory" ha...

 Described as "extremely wealthy and extremely connected" in China and Tanzania,Yang Feng Glan, "Queen of Ivory" has been arrested in Tanzania and charged with smuggling at least 706 elephant tusks that authorities say are worth about $2.5 million. Glan owned businesses, including a large restaurant, in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania's largest city, and she was even serving as the secretary general of the Tanzania-China Africa Business Council.

Glan, 66, was known to be the most notorious ivory trafficker in East Africa in the last decade. She ran a sophisticated supply chain between East Africa and China for about 10 years, Tanzanian authorities say. Many of her suppliers were also arrested.

Andrea Costa, a spokesman for the Elephant Action League said "Across Africa, they keep arresting small fish here and there,".  "They have finally caught a big fish." the spokes person for the nonprofit group that fights crime against wildlife added.

A source close to the investigation told CNN that Glan was under surveillance when, on September 28, an elite police task force dived in on her in Dar es Salaam. After a brief car chase, she was caught. She appeared before Tanzania's High Court on Thursday and was denied bail.

 

Glan came into Tanzania as a Swahili-Chinese translator in 1975, when China began to build a railway in the East African nation, according to Elephant Action League. Tanzanian law enforcement says she began trafficking ivory as far back as 2006.