FWS, DEA Investigation Leads to 63 Months in Prison for Endangered Wildlife Trafficker
For conspiring to traffic in rhinoceroses’ horns and elephant ivory, both endangered species, U.S. District Judge Gregory H. Woods sentenced Liberian citizen, Ugandan resident Moazu Kromah to 63 months in prison.
The Uganda Office of the Director of Public Prosecution extradited Kromah to the United States in connection with this case, where he has been detained since June 13, 2019. On March 30, 2022, the defendant pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wildlife trafficking and two counts of wildlife trafficking.
Federal prosecutors alleged that between December 2012 and May 2019, Kromah and two co-conspirators organized to transport, distribute, sell, and smuggle at least 420 pounds of rhinoceros horns and at least approximately 10 tons of elephant ivory. The defendant sourced from rhinoceros and elephants across various countries in East Africa, including Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea, Kenya, Mozambique, Senegal, and Tanzania.
Though several U.S. laws and international treaties prohibit the trade of endangered or threatened species, the materials are highly sought after in the United States and Southeast Asia.. In total, the estimated average retail value of the conspiracy is approximately $8 million.
Court documents further noted that the defendant typically exported the rhinoceroses’ horns and elephant ivory to foreign buyers, including one in Manhattan, concealed within a variety of artworks like African masks and statues. In return, the defendants received payments sent through international wire transfers or U.S. financial institutions.
During the sentencing hearing, Judge Woods acknowledged that such large-scale wildlife trafficking deserved a “loud and clear message” that it would be taken seriously.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) began an investigation into Kromah when law enforcement agents intercepted a package containing two rhinoceros horns weighing over five kilograms. The defendants allegedly intended to sell the items to a buyer represented to be in Manhattan. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) joined the investigation when FWS agents discovered the trading was related to a transnational organized syndicate dealing in drug trafficking as well.
“Large-scale, commercial wildlife trafficking is pushing many species to extinction. A sentence of 63 months in federal prison for Moazu Kromah is one of the most significant sentences to date and shows the seriousness of these crimes,” said Assistant Director Edward J. Grace, FWS Office of Law Enforcement. “Our agents and attachés worked closely with partners to investigate, arrest, expel, and prosecute this trafficker, who is responsible for the slaughter of more than 35 rhinoceros and 100 elephants.”
“DEA’s global investigations with our foreign counterparts often involve transnational criminal networks involved in a wide array of unlawful acts that undermine the rule of law everywhere,” said Special Agent in Charge Christopher T. Tersign, DEA Special Operations Division. “These suspected criminal masterminds not only conspired to traffic huge amounts of heroin to New York, but also directed a multimillion-dollar poaching scheme to traffic in rhinoceroses’ horns and elephant ivory–both endangered wildlife species."
In addition, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams emphasized that this case further demonstrates the Southern District of New York's commitment to work with FWS and international partners to arrest and bring to justice those who commit these serious crimes abroad.