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Xiao Ju "Tony" Guan, 39, pleaded guilty in
federal court in New York to one of three charges against him as
part of a plea deal to resolve a case U.S. authorities say
stemmed from a crackdown on illegal trafficking in rhinoceros
horns.
"I knew what I was doing was against the law," Guan said through
a Mandarin translator.
Prosecutors had previously accused Guan of participating in a
conspiracy with several other individuals to smuggle rhino horns
and sculptures made from elephant ivory and coral from various
U.S. auction houses to Canada.
Prosecutors at the time of his indictment in July said Guan, who
owned an antiques business in Richmond, British Columbia, would
sometimes mail items directly to Canada with false paperwork and
without the required declarations.
Other times, he would ship the items to Point Roberts,
Washington, less than a mile from the border, use mislabeled
boxes to deceive customs and border protection agents, and then
take smuggled items to his business, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors said Guan was arrested in March after flying to New
York to buy two black rhinoceros horns for $45,000 from
undercover Fish and Wildlife special agents, and then arranging
to ship them to Point Roberts.
Guan labeled a box containing the horns as "handicrafts" worth
just $200. The indictment said an unnamed co-conspirator told
the agents they had people who would take the horns back to
Canada.
During Tuesday's court hearing, Guan pleaded guilty only to a
charge related to the sting operation, saying he knew the
transport of horns was "heavily regulated" by the United States
and that he did not intend to get permits to ship them.
He faces 30 to 46 months in prison under stipulated sentencing
guidelines included in his plea agreement.
Guan also agreed to forfeit items seized during a search by
Canadian authorities of his antiques business.
(Reporting by Nate Raymond in New York; Editing by Jonathan
Oatis)
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