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Tanzania: Chinese woman, 2 local men charged with smuggling 1.9 tons of ivory

Associated Press
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In this photo taken on Wednesday Oct. 7, 2015, Chinese national Young Feng Glan , center, is escorted by police from Kisutu Resident's Magistrate Court in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. A Chinese woman has been charged in a Tanzanian court with smuggling nearly 1.9 tons of ivory as wildlife activists applauded the move by Tanzanian authorities to crack down on the illegal ivory trade, which has devastated the elephant population in just a few years. Businesswoman Yang Feng Clan, 66, was charged Wednesday in Dar es Salaam alongside two Tanzanian men. The three suspects allegedly committed the crime between Jan. 1, 2000 and May 22, 2014. Their case was adjourned to Monday. (AP photo) (The Associated Press)

In this photo taken on Wednesday Oct. 7, 2015, Chinese national Young Feng Glan , right, covers her face as she is escorted by police from Kisutu Resident's Magistrate Court in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. A Chinese woman has been charged in a Tanzanian court with smuggling nearly 1.9 tons of ivory as wildlife activists applauded the move by Tanzanian authorities to crack down on the illegal ivory trade, which has devastated the elephant population in just a few years. Businesswoman Yang Feng Clan, 66, was charged Wednesday in Dar es Salaam alongside two Tanzanian men. The three suspects allegedly committed the crime between Jan. 1, 2000 and May 22, 2014. Their case was adjourned to Monday. (AP photo) (The Associated Press)

A Chinese woman has been charged in a Tanzanian court with smuggling nearly 1.9 tons of ivory.

Businesswoman Yang Clan, 66, was charged Wednesday before Magistrate Renatus Lutatinisibwa alongside two Tanzanian men in Dar es Salaam.

The three suspects allegedly committed the crime between Jan. 1, 2000 and May 22, 2014. Their case was adjourned to Monday.

According to the Tanzanian government, 65,721 elephants have died in the country in the last five years, many killed by poachers for their ivory tusks. Tanzania's elephant population has plummeted from an estimated 109,051 in 2009 to 43,330 in 2014.