Chinese man convicted of wildlife smuggling

A Chinese dealer in antiques was sentenced to 70 months in prison on Tuesday as the ringleader of a crew that smuggled rhinoceros horn and elephant ivory artifacts from the United States to China.

The sentence imposed on Li Zhifei, 30, in US District Court for smuggling more than $4.5 million in goods is one of the longest ever in the United States for wildlife smuggling.

Li, the owner of a firm called Overseas Treasure Finding in Shandong province, admitted that he led three other antiques dealers in the United States who helped him smuggle the items.