Man admits selling endangered rhino horns in Las Vegas

A California man pleaded guilty in federal court Friday to charges of illegally selling the horns of the endangered black rhinoceros in Las Vegas.

Lumsden Quan and his co-defendant, Edward N. Levine, also from California, were arrested at the South Point resort in March 2014 following an undercover investigation by agents with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Quan, 47, pleaded guilty Friday to conspiracy and violating the Lacey Act, which prohibits the sale across state lines of protected wildlife. He does not have an agreement to cooperate with prosecutors.

Chief U.S. District Judge Gloria Navarro set a Dec. 3 sentencing date for Quan, who is free on his own recognizance.

Levine, who faces the same federal wildlife charges, is to stand trial Oct. 19.

According to court documents, Quan and Levine acted as brokers for the ailing owner of the rhinoceros horns in San Francisco. The horns were brought to Las Vegas, and the two men sold them at the South Point to an undercover Fish and Wildlife agent for $55,000 in cash.

The hotel-room transaction was secretly recorded by government video cameras, the documents allege.

At his plea hearing Friday, Quan, who lives in San Francisco, said the former owner of the horns has since died.

The black rhinoceros, native to eastern and central Africa, has been threatened by the international demand for its prized horns. It is listed in the U.S. Endangered Species Act.

A Denver-based Fish and Wildlife agent said in a criminal complaint last year that rhinoceros horns are a "highly sought after commodity" internationally, even though their trade has been banned since 1976.

The agent said he was part of a federal team participating in "Operation Crash," which has been investigating the illegal killing of the animals and trafficking of their horns.

Contact Jeff German at jgerman@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-8135. Find him on Twitter: @JGermanRJ