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Seven Chinese nationals appeared Thursday in a Zimbabwe court after being arrested last month with pieces of rhinoceros horn valued at nearly a million dollars.
They face charges of violation of the country's wildlife laws.
Zeng Dengui, 35 years old; Peicon Jang, 35 years old; Chen Zhiangfu, 30 years old; Who Jinchang, 29; Yu Xian, 25 years old; Yong Zhu, 25, and Liu Cheng, 23, were arrested two days before Christmas after police raided their home following a whistleblowing.
Police investigators found pieces of rhinoceros horn hidden in a mattress, plastic bags and cartons in a house in a suburb of the city.
The seven people, all of whom are unemployed, went to the dock in persimmon uniforms at the resort court in Victoria Falls.
Their trial, scheduled to open on Thursday, was postponed until Jan. 9, as prosecutors said they were not ready yet.
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The prosecutor, Bheki Tshabalala, said the police said he wanted new money laundering charges in the case and also raised a charge of stealing a motor vehicle.
Under Zimbabwean parks and wildlife laws, it is illegal to keep, possess, sell or dispose of any protected animal products or trophies.
Pieces of rhinoceros horn weighed 20.98 kg and had a value of $ 938,700 according to the prosecution.
Rhino horns are very popular in some Asian countries such as China and Vietnam, where they have gone up to $ 60,000 per kilo for their so-called medicinal qualities.
Demand has fueled a boom in poaching and trafficking in Africa, particularly in neighboring Zimbabwe, South Africa.
South Africa, home to about 80% of the world's rhinoceros population, has lost more than 7,100 animals in the last decade.
In 2016, Zimbabwean wildlife authorities reported that they had begun to dehorn 700 of the country's adult rhinos to combat poaching.
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