This archive report was first published on 24 September 2019.
On October 21, a court in Malawi will sentence five men, including two Chinese nationals, for their role in a major ivory trafficking operation.
Li Hao Yuan, 28, and Zhang Hua Qin, 42, were found guilty of trafficking ivory, along with Malawians Paul Mangwe and Tsogolani Samson and Zambian Frackson Kayoli Banda.
The five men were arrested in December 2017 after being found in possession of over 21 kilograms of ivory and $42,000 worth of rhino horns.
According to conservation group WWF, poaching has decimated the world elephant population, which has slumped from several million at the turn of the 19th century to around 400,000 in 2015.
Malawi's director of parks and wildlife, Brighton Kumchedwa, hailed the conviction as a 'very good development' and praised the government for its efforts in fighting wildlife crime.
"They have been accused of killing elephants and rhinos and, in the process, rendering Malawi being named as a country of primary concern for wildlife," Kumchedwa said.
The conviction comes ahead of a three-day visit to Malawi by Britain's Prince Harry and his wife Meghan, who are due to visit the Liwonde National Park in the south of the country.
