Patrick Sheridan, Rhinoceros Trafficking, Texas 2014

Irish Man Gets 12 Months for Rhinoceros Trafficking

Patrick Sheridan, an Irish national, was sentenced to 12 months in prison for conspiracy to violate the Lacey Act in relation to illegal rhinoceros horn trafficking in federal court in Waco, Texas, announced Assistant Attorney General John C. Cruden for the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the Department of Justice and U.S. Attorney Richard L. Durbin Jr. for the Western District of Texas and Director Dan Ashe of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Sheridan was arrested by United Kingdom law enforcement on Jan. 9, 2015, at Holyhead Sea Port in the United Kingdom as he disembarked a ferry from Dublin, Ireland. The arrest was made pursuant to a request for his provisional arrest by the United States and in September 2015 Sheridan was extradited to the United States. Sheridan’s arrest and subsequent extradition were part of “Operation Crash,” a nation-wide crackdown in the illegal trafficking in rhinoceros horns. Sheridan was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Walter S. Smith Jr.

In May 2014, a federal grand jury sitting in Waco, Texas, returned an indictment charging Sheridan and a co-defendant with conspiring to traffic in horns from black rhinoceros. In addition to conspiracy, the indictment charges substantive violations of the Lacey Act for wildlife trafficking and making a false wildlife document. According to the indictment, Sheridan, along with John Slattery aka John Flynn and Michael Slattery Jr., used a “straw buyer” to purchase two black rhinoceros horns from a taxidermist in Texas, which the group then transported to New York, where they sold the horns along with two additional horns that the group also illegally purchased in Texas.

“We will hold wildlife traffickers fully accountable for these crimes, which are – transaction by transaction – robbing from our children and grandchildren the great diversity of life on our planet,” said Assistant Attorney Cruden. “This case shows the global reach and demand of a trade that is literally driving the black rhino closer to becoming a relic of the past, but it also shows the tireless work of investigators and prosecutors to give it a fighting chance at survival.”

The escalating value of the horns has resulted in an increased demand that has helped fuel a thriving black market. In pleading guilty, Sheridan admitted to participating in a conspiracy to travel to and within the United States to purchase rhinoceros horns, which he, along with others, then resold to private individuals or consigned to auction houses in the United States, knowing that the interstate purchase and sale of the horns was illegal. Due to their dwindling populations, all rhinoceros species are protected under international trade agreements.

Rhinoceros are an herbivore species of prehistoric origin, native to Africa and southern Asia. Their distinctive horns are made of keratin, the same protein that makes up human hair and nails. According to the information, plea agreement and statements made during court proceedings, Sheridan and his co-conspirators’ actions are a stark reminder of the devastating impact of wildlife trafficking on endangered species.

“The slaughter of incredible animals like the rhino driven by poaching and illegal wildlife trafficking is a global scourge, requiring global enforcement,” said Director Ashe. “Working with law enforcement in countries across the world, we’re tracking, apprehending and extraditing criminals like Patrick Sheridan and his co-conspirators, no matter where they operate. Today’s sentencing demonstrates that criminals who contribute to the slaughter of rhinos and other protected wildlife have nowhere to hide, and will inexorably face justice in the United States.”

According to court records, Michael Slattery Jr., a co-defendant, pleaded guilty in federal court in Brooklyn and was sentenced to 14 months in prison for his role in the conspiracy. Sheridan’s sentencing brings an end to a year-long investigation into the rhinoceros horn trafficking ring.

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