San Rafael Woman Jailed For Selling Ivory At Gem Show: DA

REDWOOD CITY, CA — A San Rafael woman pleaded no contest Monday to selling ivory accessories at the San Mateo Gem Show in September 2016, according to the San Mateo County District Attorney's Office.

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife was alerted to the possible sale of a rhinoceros horn on Sept. 11, 2016. A warden approached the defendant, 53-year-old Tao Zeng, at her stall and inspected two horns suspected of being ivory products.

Zeng is an antique merchant at Mark and Period, Antique Asian Arts. While wardens were inspecting her stall, Zeng allegedly put several items into a yellow bag and put it near her feet.

A second warden saw the movement and notified the first warden, who searched the bag and found a large clip, a string of beads and a bangle suspected to be ivory. The items were found to be ivory after a laboratory analysis, prosecutors said.

Zeng faced a $5,000 fine but she requested a conversion of the fine into a sentence of 20 days in county jail for one misdemeanor count of possession of ivory for purposes of sale. The court also placed her on two years of probation following the jail sentence, which begins on July 7, prosecutors said.

Zeng forfeited all of the ivory items to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

— By City News Service / Image via jo Crebbin, Shutterstock.com