A court in Xicheng district of Beijing has sentenced a man 14 years in jail and punished five others for wildlife trafficking, including ivory and rhinoceros horns, news site thepaper.cn reported on Tuesday.
The six suspects were arrested in September 2015 for purchasing, transferring and selling endangered wildlife products, including 500 kilograms of ivory, 35 bear paws, nine rhinoceros horns and some pangolin scales. The ivory was worth more than 13 million yuan ($1.91 million), thepaper.cn reported.
The ringleader surnamed Teng confessed during the first hearing in July that he started his illegal trade on wildlife two years ago and expanded his business in 2015.
Teng was sentenced to 14 years behind bars and a fine of 60,000 yuan for illegal wildlife trafficking.
According to the Beijing forestry police, illegal wildlife trade has been on the rise in recent years.
The bureau has intensified its crackdown on wildlife-related crimes since 2013, and has confiscated more than 1,500 kilograms of ivory products worth nearly 50 million yuan, the Xinhua News Agency reported.
China also been improving its legal system, including laws on wildlife development, said the Chinese delegation to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora in September.