Feds Crack Down on Rhino Horn Smuggling Ring

Federal officials say they've arrested seven people on charges of trafficking in endangered rhinoceros horns in Los Angeles, Newark, N.J., and New York over the past week.

A spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office says four of the defendants were arrested in Los Angeles. The most recent arrest occurred Wednesday night at Los Angeles International Airport.

Jin Zhao Feng, a Chinese national, was taken into custody at LAX. Authorities suspect him of overseeing the shipment of dozens of rhino horns from the U.S. to China.

The arrests were the result of a months-long investigation into an international smuggling ring that trafficked in sawed-off rhinoceros horns. The horns are used by some cultures for ornamental carvings, good luck charms or believed medicinal purposes, including cancer.
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