Spalding man jailed for illegal ivory trading

Slawomir Kazmierczak sold 200 ivory items which raised about £14,000 on eBay, police said

A trader caught with two pieces of elephant tusk during a raid on his home has been jailed for nine months.

Slawomir Kazmierczak, 55, was also found to have items of jewellery made from ivory from elephants killed after 1947, breaching a legal deadline.

A judge at Lincoln Crown Court told him the illegal ivory trade "fed the destruction of elephants".

Kazmierczak had earlier pleaded guilty to nine charges relating to the protection of endangered species.

The National Wildlife Crime Unit seized two parcels in February 2017 sent by Kazmierczak, of Redthorne Close, Spalding in Lincolnshire, to Hong Kong and China.

The packages contained an ivory necklace, pendant and bangle.

Police said Kazmierczak had made "every attempt to conceal his criminal activity"

Kazmierczak was warned but continued to trade and the Border Force intercepted two more parcels sent by him in April 2017.

A month later, police raided his home. As well as the tusk, officers seized two ivory bracelets and an ivory figurine.

Carbon dating showed the items were made from ivory from two elephants killed after 1955.

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Kazmierczak told police he began trading after he was badly injured in a car crash and could not work to support his wife and four children.

Judge Simon Hirst said: "Without an illegal ivory market there would be no need for the capture of elephants in the wild."

Lincolnshire Police said: "Since June 2013, this man had bought and sold 200 ivory items which raised about £14,000 on eBay."