Woman faces six-and-a-half years behind bars for smuggling ivory

A Jilin province woman was sentenced to six and a half years in prison for smuggling ivory from Cote d'Ivoire in 2013.

Jiang Meixu, 38, was prosecuted at Beijing No 4 Intermediate People's Court on Tuesday. On top of her prison sentence, she faces a fine of 60,000 yuan ($9,420).

Jiang smuggled more than 14 kilograms of ivory from Cote di'Ivoired valued at approximately 600,000 yuan.

According to the court, the police investigation shows that the sezied ivory is in fact a substance banned for import or purchase in China.

Jiang pleaded guilty to her crime, but is consulting with her lawyer on a possible appeal to lower her sentence.