New York sends poachers to prison for selling animal parts and heroin

NEW YORK (PIX) -- A Kenyan man has been sentenced to 48 months in prison for his part in conspiring to traffic large quantities of rhino horns, elephant ivory, and two pounds of heroin, according to federal prosecutors.

Abdi Hussien Ahmed and four other members of a criminal enterprise group known as “The Enterprise” based in Uganda, attempted to transport millions of dollars worth of animal parts obtained through illegal poaching in the span of multiple years. 

“Wildlife trafficking is a serious threat to the natural resources and the ecological heritage shared by communities across the globe,” said U.S. Attorney Damian Williams. “This case demonstrates the crossover between cases involving wildlife trafficking and other kinds of transnational crime.”

A trade involving endangered or threatened species violates several laws in the United States, as well as international treaties implemented by the U.S.

Rhinoceros are a critically endangered species with less than 30,000 rhinos living in the wild, according to World Wide Fund for Nature. While elephants are endangered with less than 50,000 still in the wild. 

The sentence was imposed Thursday by U.S. District Judge Gregory H. Woods. He acknowledged that Ahmed would be the fifth and final member of these conspiracies to be sentenced. The case was prosecuted over many years and required multiple extraditions from several countries in Africa. 

From 2012 to 2019, the men attempted to smuggle the parts until law enforcement agents intercepted a package containing a black rhinoceros horn sold by the defendants that was intended for a buyer in Manhattan.

Ahmed and his co-conspirators were arrested, charged, and sentenced to lengthy prison terms by Judge Woods. 

Abdi Hussien Ahmed, 49, of Kenya pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wildlife trafficking and one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute one kilogram or more of heroin. He will serve four years. 

Moazu Kromah, 53, a citizen of Liberia who went by multiple aliases such as “Ayoub,” “Ayuba,” and “Kampala Man,” was sentenced to a prison term of 63 months. He pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wildlife trafficking and two counts of wildlife trafficking.

Amara Cherif, 58, a citizen of Guinea whose alias was “Bamba Issiaka,” was sentenced to a prison term of 57 months. He pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wildlife trafficking and two counts of wildlife trafficking.

Mansur Mohamed Surur, 62, also a citizen of Kenya whose alias was “Mansour,” was sentenced to a prison term of 54 months. He pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wildlife trafficking and one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute one kilogram or more of heroin.

Lastly, Badu Abdul Aziz Saleh also of Kenya, whose aliases was “Badro,” was sentenced to a prison term of 42 months. He pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute one kilogram or more of heroin.