Canadian Sentenced for Ivory Smuggling

Good news.

Tania Julie Siyam, a 32-year-old Canadian art dealer, has been sentenced to serve 60 months in prison and pay a $100,000 fine for illegally smuggling ivory from Cameroon to the United States. The sentence follows a long running international investigation by special agents of the U.S, Fish and Wildlife Service, wildlife officials from Environment Canada and the U.S. Attorney's Office in Cleveland, Ohio. Siyam plead guilty in a U.S. District Court to four federal felony charges.

Tania Siyam originally operated art import and export businesses in Montreal, Canada, and Cameroon that were fronts for smuggling products from endangered and protected wildlife species, including raw elephant ivory.