Teo Boon Ching, a Malaysian citizen nicknamed “the Godfather” by investigators, was part of a conspiracy to smuggle illegal rhino horns to international buyers, including in Manhattan, according to a news release from the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York. Ching, who was already under US sanctions, was arrested in Thailand last year and later extradited to the United States, the release said.
‘Body blow’ Prosecutors said a covert operation exposed Ching’s efforts to traffic about 219 kilograms [483 pounds] of rhino horns “resulting from the poaching of numerous rhinoceros” with an estimated value of $2.1 million. In August 2019, at the direction of law enforcement, a source bought 12 rhino horns from Ching with money that he believed were the proceeds of other illegal wildlife trafficking and was in bank accounts in New York, officials said.