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NEW YORK, March. 9 (Xinhua) -- An antique dealer in New York City pleaded guilty to selling illegal elephant ivory as legal mammoth ivory on Thursday.
The Landmark Gallery in Midtown Manhattan admitted to violating New York State's ivory ban by illegally selling elephant ivory in excess of 25,000 U.S. dollars, announced the state's Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) in a press release on Thursday.
Upon entering the plea, the corporation was ordered to forfeit 47 seized ivory items with an estimated value of more than 250,000 dollars, pay to New York State Department of Taxation and Finance 150,000 dollars for New York State/New York City sales tax liability owed for the period of March 1, 2010 to May 31, 2015, according to the release.
It also was ordered to donate 50,000 dollars to the conservation organization, Wildlife Tomorrow Fund, for use in the organization's projects involving elephant population protection, anti-poaching efforts, and land conservation, the release said.
DEC received a tip in April 2015 that Landmark Gallery was selling hand-carved ivory pieces.
An investigation revealed that Landmark was advertising the pieces as carved mammoth tusks.
"Restricting the market for ivory trade will help bring an end to the slaughtering of elephants and sends a clear message that we will not allow this immoral and criminal activity to continue in New York," said DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos.
Changes to New York State's ivory law in 2014 made mammoth ivory illegal to sell without a permit. However dealers were given a two year sell-by period for liquidating existing stock before enforcement would take effect.
