Shenzhen Customs shows items seized during coordinated anti-smuggling campaigns in Shenzhen, Wuxi and Shanghai, during a news conference in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, April 25, 2019. Authorities seized 10 suspects and illegal wildlife products weighing 209 kilograms, such as ivory and rhinoceros horns. File photo: China News Service

A suspect who was charged with smuggling 700,000 yuan ($99,000) worth of ivory stood trial in Beijing on Tuesday, after spending eight years abroad as a fugitive.

The suspect, who is only known by his surname Zhang, could be sentenced to between five and seven years in prison and punished with a fine of between 50,000 to 70,000 yuan, according to prosecutors, the Beijing Evening News reported on Tuesday.

Zhang admitted he smuggled nearly 17 kilograms of ivory and was willing to accept the punishment, the report said.

Zhang used to run a business in Africa and bought the ivory in a market in Nigeria for about 15,000 yuan.

He and a friend known as Xiong flew back to China in 2011 with the ivory, and their baggage was inspected by the customs.

"When I was about to go through the customs, I waited for a long time for my baggage at the reclaim carousel. I had a feeling the ivory would be spotted by the customs, so I called Xiong four to five times but he did not answer," Zhang said.

Xiong was a step faster than Zhang going through customs but he was taken into custody and eventually sentenced to five years in prison.

At the airport Zhang was worried he was about to be caught, so he did not claim his baggage and flew back to Nigeria.

Eight years later, in February, Zhang was detained by Vietnamese police when he was traveling there. He was then transferred to the Beijing customs in March, the Beijing Evening News reported.

The ivory Zhang attempted to smuggle into China came from Asian and African elephants, according to the report.

Zhang will be sentenced at a later date, the report said.

Global Times