Long Island Man Pleads Guilty to Trafficking Endangered Rhinoceros Horns

A Syosset business owner pleaded guilty on Tuesday to illegally trafficking horns from endangered black rhinoceroses, according to the Department of Justice.

Fengyi Zhou, 49, who has worked as an Asian art dealer for years, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge William F. Kuntz II to wildlife trafficking in violation of the Lacey Act.

Zhou admitted to purchasing as many as five un-carved rhinoceros horns from another Asian arts dealer in New York, according to the Department of Justice.

“These horns are the remains of a dead animal, and one of the world’s most iconic species that will certainly go extinct in our lifetimes if we do not stop this illegal trafficking,” Assistant Attorney General John Cruden said. “We expect those in the arts and auction trade to understand and obey the law, and those that do not will be investigated and prosecuted for these crimes.”

Along with the horns, he was given an “Endangered Species Bill of Sale,” from which Zhou was made aware that four of the horns were purchased in Texas and unlawfully transported to New York, according to the Department of Justice.

Immediately after purchasing the horns, Zhou offered to sell and later sold them, to an associate who was a Chinese national residing in the People’s Republic of China for over $130,000.

“Because of the scourge of wildlife trafficking and those like Mr. Zhou who practice it, there is now a very real possibility that the rhinoceros could disappear from Africa,” Director Dan Ashe said. “We are determined that this never happen and that we don’t leave behind for our children a world without this magnificent wild creature.”