A man from Bushey has been convicted of the illegal sale of gold jewellery containing hair from African elephants in Wembley.
Following a Met police, investigation Maharaj Sivasundram, 40, was found guilty on Friday, 29 April at Harrow Crown Court of seven counts of offering the sale of products containing specimens derived from endangered species.
He was fined £8,400, required to pay costs of £3,500 and a surcharge of £170
Back in 2017, detectives discovered a shop in Wembley was advertising gold jewellery, including rings and bangles, containing elephant hair, for sale.
Enquiries were carried out to ascertain whether the establishment had ever legally imported elephant hair jewellery, but no permits had ever been issued.
A large quantity of gold jewellery containing black fibres was seized, after forensic tests were conducted by the Science & Advice for Scottish Agriculture (SASA) Laboratory on samples of the jewellery detected DNA from African elephants.
Detective Constable Sarah Bailey, from the Met’s Wildlife Crime Unit, said: “There are legal requirements surrounding the sale of specimens derived from protected or endangered species, requirements which had not been met in this case”.
“African elephants continue to be poached, activity which partners globally are trying to prevent, so it is incredibly worrying that illegal derivatives from elephants have appeared for sale in London”.
“We will continue to identify and prosecute those profiting in London from the illegal trade of endangered species from around the world.”
Source: Met Police
